Closer
by StarryEyedLight
Summary: Appalled by the fact there's the beginnings of attraction towards Snow, Lightning seems to be getting edgy. Much to the sergeant's dismay, a certain tribeswoman seeks to drive her insane... One way or another... SLIGHT SPOILERS LightxFang
1. Honey

_Guh, it popped into my head two days ago. I like the idea, but I don't know if I portrayed the characters right. D: What also bugs me is this 'no-spaces-between-POV-switches' and other nonsense. How does one do this? D: If I am forced to put some line there in between to signify the change, I swear to Yevon I will!_

_Hope you enjoy, I didn't originally indeed to continue it.. But after this ending I might have too. XD_

**Closer**

**Honey**

_I missed her, I missed her beyond compare. I didn't want to face reality, I didn't want to see myself as a hated L'Cie, I just wanted her back. _

_I felt horrid when I eyes drifted to him, even for the slightest of seconds. He never noticed; he was far too stupid to notice my gaze. But every time the thought crossed my mind, so did his loyalty to who he loved beyond compare._

_**Serah.**_

_Then there was Fang._

_She wasn't off-limits like Snow, and Eden knows she was ten times smarter than he was. But there were odd things to consider, even before the idea of her and me… _

_It wasn't right, no; I would never convince myself of the idea… But…_

_She didn't belong to anyone, maybe there was Vanille but the two were practically sisters. It brought me comfort, that even if I didn't act on it…_

_Fang… Could be mine._

_* ~ *_

_Don't you have some happy-go-lucky red-head to follow around?_

She couldn't take Fang looking at her anymore.

"Will you stop it?" Lightning hissed, narrowing her eyes at Fang who simply smirked, resting her head lazily on her hand.

"Stop what?" She shrugged lightly, acting oblivious to Lightning's discomfort.

"Stop…" She almost answered, before she gritted her teeth. "You know _what_."

_Damn her, she knows she's getting to me. _

"You're tense," Fang chuckled, leaning back as she stretched.

Snow had gone off scouting and Vanille had chosen to keep the ogre company. Hope meanwhile, lay between the women, sound asleep in the middle of Vile Peaks. Pulse born creations were wandering around, but Lightning had opted to stay up. Fang usually went off to find some place comfortable both for herself and Vanille, but tonight she chose to keep Ms. Farron company.

_Much_ to Lightning's displeasure.

"I'm _not_ tense," came the counter, brimming with embers. "I'm irritated."

Fang's left eyebrow rose ever so slightly. "By what?"

"By _whom_."

She chuckled at the counter. "You saying _I'm _irritating you? Here I thought that was a job reserved for Snow!"

Hope twitched in his sleep, turning over.

Lightning snorted, looking away sharply as she tapped her foot on the ground. She hated this place; it reminded her of the past, things that she couldn't change.

_Like Serah…_

It _always _came back to Serah.

Of course what didn't make her mood any better was the fact that they had returned here because Sazh had been captured by PSICOM. Brilliantly, she might add, that to stop the agents who had him, Snow had fired a _rocket_ at the sky tank. Apparently it had never crossed his very small, very _limited_ mind that the explosion could kill Sazh.

_Oh no… _She gritted her teeth just thinking about the giant idiot. _Eden forbid he actually _thinks_ before doing _**anything**_**.**_

"You're thinking about her."

Fang's voice broke Lightning's thoughts abruptly. The pink-haired woman, who hadn't realized she looked solemn, suddenly appeared off guard.

"It's alright, I understand it. Was the same way when Vanille and I got separated." The Pulse-born looked as defeated as Lightning did for a moment. "You give up hope to easily."

"Hmph.."

"Oh, now I'm not dignified with a reply?"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking; about the crash."

Yes, the second part of the tale. After the rocket had hit, the airship had went tumbling down past the Hanged Edge, and down here. It was now somewhere in the mess of what could only be described as crap the Fal'Cie had used to repair the shell of Cocoon. Lightning hadn't been impressed in the least, Fang found it hilarious, Snow was remorseful, Hope was bitter and Vanille horrified.

Tense wouldn't begin to describe what Lightning was feeling.

"He meant well."

She gritted her teeth. "He's a moron."

"Aye, I never disputed that. But…" Fang's face softened. "He meant well, if they had been able to take Sazh back-"

"I know." Lightning cut off, crossing her arms and standing. "But he's still a moron."

The warrior-woman laughed, stretching again. "You ever gonna go to sleep? Or am I going to force you?"

Lightning blinked. "Pardon?"

"You never sleep Light. You're always up, guarding everyone, including the idiot you claim to hate." She smirked, standing up and approaching the pink-haired girl. "Get some shut eye."

Lightning's eyes narrowed at the challenge. "No."

The challenger rested her hands on her hips. "You don't, and I'll get Snow to knock you out."

A small smirk appeared on Lightning's face. "I'd like to see him try."

"Not that hard, I'll tell him to bear hug you, lack of oxygen… Or I'll just have him breathe on you after he's ate some of his own cooking… Foul stuff."

"Charming.."

The gap between the two was closing quickly. Fang had a dominating persona, and though Lightning would never admit it to anyone, she was sometimes intimidated by it. But the lack of personal space was also getting to her; she instinctively backed up, away from the approaching woman. Lightning had a thing about space, her bubble occasionally wavered and bent, but it never was broken. Not intentionally, there was the awkward time Snow had crashed in her or Hope hugged her, but not like this.

Fang was intentionally getting her in space, and Lightning would have none of that.

"I got another way to tucker you out," Fang teased, eyeing Lightning up and down.

Now she felt rather awkward, Lightning backed up faster, until her back hit the wall. "W-what?" She stammered, unable to hide her surprise. "Fang but I-"

The warrior-woman smiled, twirling her spear brilliantly before readying herself. Lightning took a long blink, reality dawning on her as Fang just laughed.

"Oh…" She still hadn't revived her usual 'no emotion' shell.

"What did you have in mind?" She snickered. "Something a bit… _Closer?_"

Lightning's fury boiled over as she glared doom on Fang, she could almost see the counter timing down. "_Shut up."_

Fang shrugged. "_**Make me**__."_

Hope woke up in time to see the most violent sparring match between Lightning and Fang to date.

There were sparks flying from each hit, but Fang just seemed to laugh it off. The sergeant however, looked like she was out for blood. Her blue eyes burned with could only be rage as her opponent simply danced about. Embarrassment wasn't something she was used to, usually that was for Snow or Sazh. To have that pulled on her was something she couldn't handle…

Well, not handle _well_ anyways.

Though she didn't know why it was infuriating her to the degree it was. It was a joke; she had certainly heard worse ones, especially with the ogre trudging around with Serah.

_But it was at my expense, damn it. She has to pay._

Then the idea of what she thought Fang had been implying came screaming back to her. The image was enough to throw Lightning off her game, letting the Pulse-born rush in and slam her to the right.

Lightning yelped, tumbling out of sight.

"Light!" Hope called, starting to get up.

"Stay here," Fang rolled her eyes. "I'll go get her."

"A-alright…"

* ~ *

"URGH!" Lightning growled, jumping to her feet. Her fists were clenched and teeth ground tight against each other as the idea of that woman's coy smirk came to be in her mind. "That… That…" The word wouldn't come to the dumbfounded Lightning, there was no possible insult she could utter to make herself feel better. "To hell with it, I'll just hurt her later…"

Lightning had never been the butt of anyone's jokes, simply because she didn't take it well. Her childhood had typical mockery all children face, only she had the tendency to take things too seriously. What was a joke to another usually wasn't to her. Not to mention this didn't seem like the time to joke, or think that she had been implying anything else.

The image came back, and the woman found herself angrily looking for her weapon as an outlet for her frustration.

"Light?" Fang's voice echoed into the pit she had fallen into.

_So help me, when I find my gun.._

"Oh there you are!" Fang tiled her head a bit, stabbing her spear into the ground. "Whatcha doin' down there?"

Lightning didn't grace Fang with a reply, not even a loathing stare.

"Hey, it's not my fault you were daydreaming…" She trailed off, looking a bit playful as she stood at the edge of the pit. "About what though, I wonder."

"Murder…"

"I bet; I never knew murder made someone that misty-eyed."

_Son of a…_

Lightning clenched her fists in response, choosing to continue the search for her gunblade instead of even acknowledging Fang's second challenge of the night. The Blaze Edge was stuck in the ground a few feet away. Happy to put more distance between Fang and herself, Lightning hastily went for it. Tearing it from the ground so hard that dirt went flying upwards. She heard Fang chuckled from behind her, but paid her no mind as she retracted the blade and shoved it into its scabbard.

She was brushing dirt off herself when she nearly ran smack into Fang who had once again, popped her bubble. Lightning's anger had reached the point of no return, with the intention of silencing whatever smart comment the fellow L'Cie had, she formed a fist.

Of course, that was until she felt Fang's lips pressed up against hers.

Shock shot through her, then… Then nothing, nothing words could properly portray anyways. For whatever reason she didn't pull away in disgust, she didn't smack Fang for the second time, she just..

Let it happen, and was letting it continue.

Her fist unclenched and her eyes drifted slowly shut. Her body still remained tense, though it was ever so slowly beginning to relax.

"Light!? Fang?" Hope's worried voice broke the fantasy Lightning had been drifting into, and she quickly pulled herself away.

"We're coming." The shell the sergeant had perfected returned in a flash; she roughly pushed past her opponent.

"Hey, don't think I'll let you off that easy." Fang crossed her arms as Lightning turned back to her, looking uncertain. "I deserve something, I think."

She slapped her sparring partner without a second of hesitation. Fang shook her head with a small smile, touching her jaw with her hand.

"Always good to have your efforts rewarded."

"That's for popping my bubble," Lightning stated, before jumping up out of the pit. "_Twice_."

The warrior stood in the hole with her hands on her hips. She licked her lips, a thoughtful smirk appearing on her face. For all the things Oerba Yun Fang had correctly assumed (and there was a lot of them), the taste that lingered on her lips wasn't something she could add to that list.

_She tastes like honey… _She bounced out of the pit, and plucked her spear from the ground. _Didn't see that coming…_

Fang made a mental note as she walked back over to the camp. Lightning hadn't pulled away, though she was quick to hide what happened even from herself when the others were involved. Her shell came back at the speed of well, lightning. It was slow to drop however, something that would dissuade others from the challenge.

But Fang liked challenges however, and she adored the taste of honey.


	2. Smile

_Alrighty, with the bombardment of 'You must continue', I have granted your wish. I'm not sure how far I'll take it along, but at least until they find Sazh. Whether they're able to rescue him or not I shall not reveal. X3_

_Thanks to all of you for the wonderful reviews~ I greatly appreciate the support. :3 _

_This chapter isn't as… I dunno, it's not like the other. Still, I hope you enjoy and keep reading. :)_

**Closer**

**Smile**

_I don't know if I'm doing what she wanted. All she told me, all she made me promise, was to save Cocoon. _

_But we're Pulse L'Cie, our focus couldn't be to save the enemy. _

_Snow was confident that our focus was to fulfill our promise to Serah, and somehow save Cocoon from a threat we couldn't properly perceive. It infuriated me that he was so blindly optimistic, it's like reality never touched that simple mind of his._

_Fang would bring the sky down for Vanille, Snow would do the same for Serah._

_But… What did I have to fight for, really?_

Lightning's eyes had just closed when she heard footsteps. They immediately snapped open, gazing in the direction of the sound. The steps were heavy, it sounded like whatever was coming their way weighed a fair amount more than any ordinary person. Lightning kept quiet, eyes narrowing slowly as the intruder came closer to where Hope and Fang were resting.

Slowly her hand drifted down behind her; gently her fingers touched the cold metal that was her weapon. She hoped it was a Pulse contraption rather than PSICOM, Sanctum soldiers meant trouble. Something she had enough of as it were, with looking after Hope and being harassed by Fang.

_And…_

Lightning's eye twitched, rocketing the idea to the very back of her mind as the beast approached.

"Hey! Light!"

She exhaled slowly, secretly relieved it was the ogre who stomped from around the corner. Vanille was in tow, her happy expression brighter than usual.

Snow's smile didn't dampen a tad when Lightning failed to reply, that disapproving stare she gave him was as close as he would probably ever get to a 'Hello'.

"Guess what!"

She wasn't one for guessing.

"No."

Vanille pouted. "Aww come on Lightning! We got some good news!"

She looked tentatively at Snow. "He found his brain?"

"Hey!"

Vanille chuckled, gathering Lightning's attention again as Snow crossed his arms. "We found the sky tank!"

She raised an eyebrow, glancing behind Snow to see if Sazh was hidden by his massive form. "… Yet you're lacking our pilot…"

"They moved out," Snow spoke up. "We're not much for trackers, so we thought we'd come back and get you or Fang to help out."

The woman glanced back at the slumbering Hope and the quietly snoozing Yun Fang. After their… encounter, Fang had given up on trying to make the very put-off Lightning sleep. She had then nestled down between a large piece of crumpled metal and rock before falling asleep. So the sergeant had been left in peace for about two hours, not once had it crossed her mind that the two who had wandered off more due to boredom would track down the airship.

She wondered if it had ever crossed their minds that Sazh was dead, put-down in some dark cavern before the group moved out.

"Was there any evidence that Sazh was with them?"

Then came the very peppy chirp from the small pouch hanging from Vanille's side. The leather flap moved a tad before a tiny yellow head popped out, black eyes blinking as they focused on Lightning.

"His bird…" Lightning frowned, crossing her arms. "That's your proof?"

"Well, if Sazh was dead, I bet this little guy would be worse for wear!" Vanille chimed happily as the fluff ball leapt from her bag to Lightning's knee.

_Obviously _real _evidence never crossed her mind._

She wasn't impressed; she never took to small, lovable creatures. Some would argue she never took to anything, that wasn't true. Creatures that had their uses she approved of, fluffy things with little to no value in the working world held no appeal for the warrior.

It chirped, fluttering its wings. Lightning held back an irritated sigh.

"So… Do you want to go?" Vanille tilted her head, much like the bird now looking inquisitively at shiny zipper on her skirt.

That sigh she had been holding back escaped her. "Fine."

"Yay!" The girl chimed, clasping her hands over her mouth as Hope grumbled in his sleep. "Oops.. Um," Vanille thought out loud as Lightning stood, forcing the bird over to the red-head again. "Are you going to take anyone with you?"

Lightning didn't think it was necessary; she could handle most things PSICOM could throw at her. She didn't really catch onto Vanille's general concern until a good minute had passed of just silence. Truth be told, she would've preferred the quiet as it helped her think. The pink-haired woman looked over at the duo, her face strategically expressionless.

"Should I?"

"Well it's PSICOM," Snow shrugged. "They could have a new trick or two."

Lightning began to walk away; Snow's footprints in the muck and dirt were easy to follow. She'd find her way to the sky tank soon enough.

"Lightning!"

She paused, looking over her shoulder at Vanille.

"Fine then, Snow, you're with me."

Snow blinked, shocked. "Wait… You want me to come along?" He looked over at the sleeping Fang. "Not her?"

She was thankful she was looking forward, her wavering expression hidden. "Not her."

"Alright then…"

* ~ *

There was silence, pure holy silence for fifteen minutes. They were hiking back to the tank, following the most confusing path on the whole of Cocoon. Lightning wondered if Vanille or Snow had ever heard of a word called 'direction', as apparently they had no sense of it. For a good five minutes of the travelling, they had followed the tracks around in circles before somehow Snow had enough sense to finally follow a different set.

_The wrong set_, Lightning noted. _But at least a different set._

Still they just went in circles. He kept insisting on leading the pair, but it wasn't working. Lightning's irritation was beginning to show. Even if she had apologized for not believing him and Serah back in Bodhum, it was hard not to grow quickly frustrated with the idiot.

"Snow…" She growled quietly, stopping as she watched him try to make sense of another pair. It would've been amusing had Sazh's life not been hanging in the balance.

"Just a sec, I think I-"

"That's the wrong way."

He stopped, and looked at her. "What?"

Scoffing, she moved past him and headed east, the only course he hadn't gone yet. The road was a bit easier to manage as well; she couldn't picture Vanille having an easy time with the steep slopes Snow insisted on adventuring onto.

Snow frowned, hurrying to catch up with his companion.

"What's eating you?"

She glanced at Snow, barely curious about what he meant.

"You're just.. Tighter than usual."

Lightning shook her head. "Tighter than usual?"

"Can't think of the word."

"Uptight?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

_How stupid are you? _

She hurried along, trying to shove frustration to the back of her mind. "I'm _not_ uptight."

Snow chuckled quietly, "No… Not at all."

"Quiet."

He immediately hushed his laughter, though an amused smirk remained on his face.

"So what is it?"

She groaned, shooting him a glare. "Nothing."

_I can't stand being around you, you're a reminder…_

Snow didn't buy it. His eyes scanned the surroundings, everything was brown and grey. Occasionally there was a small fire or maybe a dimmed light that still held some charge, but nothing interesting. Lightning was leading the way by a good couple of feet, not wanting to wait up for him, it seemed. Her cape danced as she trudged along, intent on complete and utter silence.

Silence was boring, heroes were never bored.

"Something happen between you and Fang?"

The look she gave him when she pivoted around was one mixed with surprise, and utter horror.

"W-what?"

"Uh…" Snow stumbled with his words, feeling that the distance between them wasn't enough if he wanted to properly defend himself against a woman who moved as fast as her name implied. "You fight or something…?" His voice rose at the end nervously.

"She.." Lightning looked away, towards rocky cliff side they had been walking beside. "Invaded my space."

"Oh," he blinked, surprised he was still breathing. "Damn her, then."

She snorted, turning back around. "Yes… Damn her."

_Damn her straight to hell._

They eventually made it, following Lightning's direction of course. The wreck itself wasn't as bad as she initially thought. The craft had created a sort of crater for itself in the mud, and smoke still rose from the burnt out engines and the massive hole Snow had blown into it. Lightning was cautious; PSICOM would probably suspect them to follow and try to get back their friend, so for all she knew there could be a sniper waiting for them.

Of course, both Snow and Vanille, two of the unstealthiest people on Cocoon had made it back alright. Her worries were probably unfounded. Unless the sniper was able to recognize real threats compared to those that just hoped they presented a challenge..

Lightning stayed on edge.

"… She beat you, didn't she?"

Lightning's eye twitched, slowly she turned around. Her eyebrow rose ever so slightly at the _very_ brave man.

"Pardon?"

Snow smirked, his hands behind his head as he continued. "You can't be that angry for her just stepping to close."

"She-" Lightning cut herself off because she finished that sentence. "You think we fought?"

"I _know _you fought_."_

"Do you?" She placed one had on her hip.

"I do."

"And your proof?"

Snow grinned. "We could hear you two fighting from here."

She should've seen that answer coming. It amazed her that she had expected a _real_ reason. "I bet."

"So.. Did she win?"

Lightning exhaled irritably. "No."

"Aha! So you _did _fight!"

She bit her tongue for a second. "Shut up."

"I bet she won…" The taunt was edging her on, and she knew it. She had given into one challenge for tonight; she was **not** going to give into another. Much less one of Snow's. "Knocked you flat on your-"

"Snow, I will end you," She stated flatly. "If you _**dare**_ finish that sentence…"

"Shutting up."

_What could Serah possible see in you?_

* ~ *

Fang awoke from her dreams with a quiet stutter, eyes slowly drifting open to see Vanille poking the firepit with a stick. She blinked; Lightning had been sitting there when she had fallen asleep, so exactly where did the pink-haired wonder go?

"You're back." She smiled, stretching as she yawned. "Where's sunshine?"

"She went back to the sky tank," Vanille smiled a tad. "With Snow."

That wasn't something the tribeswoman had expected to hear. She looked at her friend oddly.

"With Snow?"

"Yep!" She went back to poking the dying fire. "We needed a tracker, and you were asleep."

"Yeah I dozed off," she leaned back against the rock wall. "A bit tuckered out from my little quarrel with the sergeant."

Vanille looked up, tilting her head to the side. "You fought Lightning?"

"She was tense," She smirked mischievously. "I thought I could help."

The girl thought about to how annoyed Lightning had looked.

"What did you do to her?"

"What?" Fang frowned, acting hurt. "You assume I did something?"

Vanille giggled, sitting back away from the flames. "I know you did."

"Oh, some mystic L'Cie power?"

"Uh huh!"

Fang shook her head; she was mildly disappointed Lightning hadn't chosen her to go off adventuring. It was to be expected though, after that kiss Ms. Farron would want space to think about it. She hadn't expected Snow to outrank her though, but Lightning was a hard woman to read at times. With nothing but a sigh Fang began to play with her wavy hair. She was antsy now, something she shouldn't be. Sazh needed rescuing, that was bound to be interesting.

She stood then, catching the attention of Vanille. She gently nudged the snoozing Hope with her foot, almost making him roll over until he awoke.

"Huh?" He blinked lazily. "What's happening?"

"Movin' out." Fang smiled, picking up her spear.

"But, Lightning wanted us to stay here…" Vanille pointed out, though she looked excited.

"She never said how long," The warrior-woman countered. "Besides, they might need our help."

"Won't Light get mad?" Hope sounded concerned for their well-being.

"She might, probably will." Fang cracked her knuckles. "But like hell am I lettin' them have all the action."

Vanille leapt up excited, Hope less so, but at least he was up. Fang smirked, taking the lead at a quick pace in hopes of closing the distance between themselves and the duo. She listened to the patter of feet behind her, hurrying along to keep up with her. For all her hate towards Cocoon, she liked that it gave her something to do. It had adventure and places she had never been before, and without it, she would've never met Lightning.

_Should take her to Gran Pulse someday… _She mused, imagining Lightning's expression. _She might enjoy it, plenty of things to kill with that sword of hers._

Then she remembered the brand, and the fate that was decided for them.

Fang's smile dimmed just a touch in response.


	3. Confusion

_Woo, I'm in a good mood. Cha-Ching is addictive, which is strange. I didn't particular enjoy it when Hedley played at the Olympic ending ceremonies… ANYWAYS_

_Onto the story… Are my chapters getting progressively longer? XD I actually cut out a small section of this chapter, I didn't think it suited what was going on._

_Thanks to everyone for the reviews so far :3 I appreciate them! _

**Closer**

**Confusion**

"You sure this will work?" He looked at his fellow soldier. Out here, they were at the mercy of Pulse monstrosities and the l'Cie that had followed them down here. He wasn't comfortable with any of this, all he wanted was to transport the prisoner to Eden and be done with all of this.

"Of course it'll work…" The technician retorted, tinkering away with the final explosive. "The drone caught sight of them a few clicks back, some monster of a man and that chick from Palumpolum, with the rifle."

He paled. "H-her?"

His comrade looked over his shoulder. "Why so nervous?"

They were PSICOM soldiers, clad in intimidating armour and equipped with advanced weaponry. But those l'Cie had killed their fair share of people without the aid of magic, and when they used it… Everyone around them died. It was horrifying, and that woman was one of the coldest killers he had ever seen.

"That's Lightning Farron."

The technician paused. "That sounds familiar…"

"She was a sergeant in Bodhum's Guardian Corps. Fast as hell, and hates PSICOM."

"That's fair I guess…"

He blinked inside his helm, confused. "What?"

"Well, if I were an l'Cie and someone was trying to kill me… I would try to kill them first."

The soldier grumbled, fiddling with his rifle nervously. "Hurry up already, I want to get back to camp…" He then abruptly hit the man on the back of his head.

"Ow! Hey, what the hell?"

"Idiot, you're part of PSICOM." He shot back, walking away. "What do you think she'll do to you?"

"Nothing," The technician caught up, fiddling with his side-arm. "Because the explosion will kill her long before she gets near me."

~ * ~

"… Did you ever have a pet?"

Lightning's thoughts stopped abruptly. She looked at Snow in annoyance, this was probably the hundredth question he had randomly blurted out, and the reason still eluded her. She contemplated murder briefly, but then decided against it. If the others found out she murdered the 'hero', there'd be trouble.

Vanille would cry, Hope would've called her a hypocrite and gone into another raging depression, and Fang…

She didn't know what Fang would do.

_Kiss you maybe? Urgh. _

"Light?"

"Huh?" The sound escaped her mouth before she could stop it. "Oh, a pet… Yes."

"Really?" Snow sounded amazed. "What'd you have?"

"A cat."

That wasn't what he had expected. "I thought you'd have a snake, I could see you buying cute little fluffy things to feed it."

Lightning gritted her teeth, glaring at him. "Amazingly, no. I had a cat, and even more shocking, it had fur and was considered 'cute'."

"By you?"

"Urgh," She stopped in front of him, arms crossed defiantly. "Is there a reason for your interrogation?"

"Serah never mentioned any pets in the family," he shrugged, putting his hands behind his head.

"And the _other_ ninety-nine questions?"

"Curious."

She pivoted on her heel, focused on ignoring him now. "Snow,"

"Yeah?"

"Shut. Up."

The bliss didn't last, the blond wanted his answer. He caught up to her easily, looking over at her through his bangs.

"Come on," He pushed. "You _never_ talk, not unless it's about strategy. Is it that bad that I might want to know you better?"

She came to a dead halt, staring at him. Snow didn't seem to catch on until a minute later; his eyes went wide and took a step away from her.

"Uh, wait! No, that came out… Horribly, horribly wrong!"

_Did it? You sounded pretty sure a second ago._

She raised an eyebrow. "So I'm not worth getting to know?"

"What!? No, I just… I'm sure you're lovely-"

"You're sure huh?"

"Light, I…" He stopped, seeing a playful smirk breaking through her mask. "Oh… Oh that's mean."

She seemed rather proud of herself, even in her reserved manner. Content with her revenge, she took the lead again. Cape swishing behind her as a result of her quick stride.

"Hurry up," She called back. "I'm not coming to get you if you get lost."

Snow thought about what she had tricked him into saying, shaking it from his head as he jogged to make up the distance. He was silent, finding the scenery much more interesting than before, if only to avoid Lightning playing a trick on him again.

What had he just admitted?

He made a mental note to repay her at some point, but he'd have to wait a while… She was a sergeant; she would obviously be expecting a counterattack.

"So…" He broke the silence cautiously. "What was its name?"

_101…_

"Whose?"

"Your cat's."

Lightning thought about the creature from her childhood, with green eyes and simple grey fur. She had adored that cat; she had kept all Lightning's darkest secrets and been there for her when her parents died. Serah was there too, obviously. But she had to be strong, she had never cried in front of her little sister after that, it had been the once ignored pet that became Lightning's shoulder to cry on.

"Oh…" She shrugged. "Kiwi."

"Kiwi?" Snow tilted his head. "As in the fruit?"

_102…_

"No the hoverbike." Lightning shot him a look. "Yes, the fruit."

"… Do you like Kiwis?"

_Almighty fal'Cie, that's 103…_

"Snow…"

He smiled, laughing. "Oh come on, you would name your cat after a fruit you hate?"

_104…_

"Her eyes you moron," The woman groaned. "They were green, like kiwis."

"So you've never had a kiwi?"

_105… This is getting old Snow._

She sighed irritably and pushed on.

* ~ *

Oerba Yun Fang stood at the edge of the crater the crash had created, arms crossed, and eyes narrowed she watched as Hope and Vanille investigated the sky tank in detail. It looked like a mess, but they had insisted on taking a second look at it, just to make sure PSICOM didn't leave behind anything important. She was doing this for Vanille, the girl always had a way of making Fang do something out of character, and this was one of those times.

_We should be catching up to Lightning and Snow, _she thought with a deep inhale. _Not hunting for treasure._

"Hey!" Hope called, ushering Fang to them. The woman hurried over, watching as Vanille threw something out onto the ground. "What is it?"

Fang looked at the contraption curiously. It was sleek in design, had a cold blue body and dark glass covering a large lens and two smaller ones. It had no visible weapons, and was sparking. She nudged it with her foot and watched as it did nothing but begin to smoke.

"It's a scout drone," she answered. "Probably damaged in the crash."

"One's missing!" Vanille chimed, looking back inside the tank. There was a place in the wall for two more, one was in place, also ruined, but the third was gone. "Do you think they took it?"

"It probably got destroyed in the crash," Hope offered, looking to Fang. "Right?"

"Better not to wait around and find out." Fang motioned them out. "Come on, when we find Light, we can tell her."

Hope was leading way as they moved on, able to easily follow the tracks left by Snow in the mud. Fang watched him, making sure he didn't get to far ahead. An ambush could be waiting for them, something that no doubt would send the kid into panic.

He tried to be brave, and she admired that. But he was prone to second guessing himself at the worst possible moments. Fang was confident he'd shape up eventually. From what Lightning had told her, Hope had in fact, shaped up quite well. The tribeswoman didn't kid herself though, there was a long way to go for the boy.

_Just in time to turn to crystal, _she mused, finding that a tad amusing though sad. _Poor kid._

"Hey Fang?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned her attention to Vanille. The peppy girl was right next to her, looking mischievous.

"Yeah?"

"What_ did_ you do to Lightning?"

Fang frowned, as true as it was that she has in fact done something, Vanille assuming she had hurt a bit.

"Not much." She shrugged, crossing her arms. She lowered her voice as she spoke. "Just kissed."

Vanille beamed, bouncing up and down excitedly as she grabbed Fang's arm. "Ooooh! Details! Now!"

Hope turned around, confused. "What's up?"

Fang forced a smile. "She discovered sugar makes her hyper," she glared at Vanille who quickly calmed herself.

".. Right." The boy gave them both a weird look before turning around.

"There's nothing to tell," Fang admitted. "I kissed her, and she got upset."

Vanille frowned. "By the kiss?"

"Uh.." She was at a loss now. Exactly what had upset Lightning? She hadn't shoved her away immediately, in fact if Hope hadn't called out for them, who knew where that scene would've gone. She had felt Lightning's defense lower. "I don't know, to be honest."

Her friend gave her a cheeky smile. "Oooh, you have a crush huh?"

"What?" Fang shook her head, waving the idea off. "She offered the idea actually, I just obliged."

"She told you to kiss her?"

"Eh, no. But her mind immediately went to an idea that was quite intimate."

Vanille snickered, twirling happily at the news. No, she hadn't expected Lightning and Fang to kiss, but at least there might be a smile _eventually _on their leader's face. She gave Fang a sly look.

"You tricked her into thinking that didn't you?"

Fang rolled her eyes, but the reserved smile gave it all away. "I was curious, wonder what she would think of first."

"Oh ho ho, you _did_ trick her." Vanille poked her in the arm. "You have a crush on Lightning…"

Fang just laughed, brushing the girl off. "Don't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed!" Vanille gave a mocking salute before she bounced off towards Hope.

With a sigh she followed other two, her eyes drifting to the ground. When exactly did her friendship with Lightning morph into something she wanted more of? Her friend was a cold woman who was quite standoffish about all things, Fang was the complete opposite. She didn't have all these reserves about personality, personal space and rules.

Oh god the rules, they drove Fang up the wall.

It was a dead-end idea if she was going to be honest with herself, they were doomed a fate of crystal slumber. Something Fang couldn't remember a thing about, she didn't recall if she dreamt or her consciousness drifted off into some place of eternal bliss, all she saw was darkness. Of course, there was the flipside of the same coin, there was also the Cie'th. Twisted monsters, mockeries of what the l'Cie were.

_Mockeries… _Fang wondered, looking at her friends. _Or reflections? Maybe we've just been staring into a mirror, and since we don't like what we see... We look the other way._

Whether on Gran Pulse or Cocoon, humanity wasn't much different. If people didn't like what they saw, they turned a blind eye. Her pessimism surprised even her, and she chuckled sadly in response.

_I sound like Lightning, the ray of sunshine she is._

"Hey!" Hope called, waving to Fang before both Vanille and him took off sprinting. "There they are!"

Fang snapped out of her thoughts quickly, she took off after her companions. Running felt good, it got her mind off the future. What happened to her optimism? Things never seemed so bleak to her before, hell, she had all the time in the world really. Her own tattoo was twisted and scarred, it wasn't advancing.

Any other person would take comfort in that fact.

Fang just happened to look up when she spotted something in the sky. It was dark, hovering to side as it watched the group. She frowned, slowly grabbing her spear from her back. Her grip on it tightened as it moved, zooming forward a tad before turning its attention to Lightning.

"What the…" She blinked. "Drone!" She cried, watching as the group spurred to life.

Vanille's staff unfurled, Hope took a couple steps back as he grabbed his boomerang, while Snow clenched his fists. Lightning grabbed her gunblade, keeping it in rifle form as she aimed at the spy. There were a loud couple of bangs as the gun blazed to life and splattered the scout with bullets.

It exploded, crashing to the ground.

The group seemed to relax, Hope and Vanille hurrying over to the enemy.

"That's the last one!" Vanille danced a little in happiness. "Now if they want to find us, they'll have to send troops."

Lightning approached the second group, her face anything but happy. She glanced at Fang, her stare lingering a second too long to be common before she addressed them all.

"What are you doing here?"

Hope immediately lost his confidence. "We uh… Decided to help?"

"I told you to stay at camp." She looked irritated.

"Well…" The boy was losing ground. "We just thought we'd come along."

Lightning turned to Vanille for an explanation.

"The more the merrier!" The girl offered happily.

_I… should've seen that coming. _Lightning thought.

"I told them to move," Fang spoke up. The two woman locked eyes, neither backing down. "Thought we could help, Sazh is our friend too."

"Tch…" Lightning pivoted on her heel. "Fine then."

She was anything but fine with this arrangement. Fang and others should've stayed at the camp. PSICOM could be planning something, they could have reinforcements already and if they were all in one spot, it was easier to catch them. The Sanctum wasn't known for being friendly, they were becoming desperate. If they got the chance to gun every single one of them down, they would. This 'public execution' thing was just a formality.

Plus, Lightning _really _didn't want to be anywhere near Fang at the moment.

So she stomped off, taking the lead by a good couple of feet, which turned into meters.

_Why did she do it? _The sergeant couldn't block the thoughts from her mind now. _As if I didn't have enough problems, with Serah turning to crystal and being an l'Cie... Not to mention Snow. _

_She had to add to it, she had to make something that was fine, incredibly awkward._

_For the love of Eden, of all the things I might be, I am definitely not ga-_

~ * ~

The soldier watched from the up-top the cliff as the explosives went off, just as they planned. From inside his helmet he smiled and dropped the trigger to the ground, grabbing his rifle. The technician was lying when he said they would do the job. The rest could be taken down, but the sergeant had proved to be a rather large problem.

"Rosch sends his regards.." He sneered, spotting the lifeless body of Lightning as the smoke began to clear. "But it looks like you won't be making it to the reunion…"

With that he slid down the slope, and hurried to make it back to camp. They had to keep moving, find somewhere with a vantage point. If they could lure the rest into a trap, it would be smooth sailing from here on out.


	4. Stars

_I don't think I've been damned so many times in my life over a cliffhanger! Lol, anyways here's the next installment. It's longer than the others, sorry about the wait as well. I had to rewrite about half, I felt as if I was rushing and wasn't getting Lightning right. _

_:3_

**Closer**

**Stars**

"_There you are."_

_Lightning twitched, eyes opening cautiously. She was surprised to see the endless night sky above her, stars sparkling like diamonds. It was beautiful, but if she recalled correctly, it was created by the fal'Cie. It did in fact, end at some point. When you crossed over that threshold, you would be staring at Pulse's sky._

_Was that endless?_

"_Light, aren't you going to get up?"_

_She blinked, sitting up slowly. She gazed at her hands like they were foreign objects. _

What's going on? _She wondered, scanning her surroundings. The entire place was stars; it was like she was sitting in the middle of space. She stood, watching as the unseen floor below her rippled like a pool of water. The faint silver light from the stars reflected off the invisible liquid beneath her feet._

_Lightning didn't say anything at first, she spun around. Utterly confused on what was going on._

"_Where am I?" She questioned, sounding ever defiant. "Where's everybody else?"_

"_At the Vile Peaks, where you are… Well, were. Sorta.."_

That voice… _Lightning's eyes went wide. "Serah?!"_

"_Hey."_

_Lightning jumped in surprise, Serah had appeared right next to her. She looked just as she did when she turned to crystal; wearing a white blouse and red plaid skirt. The sergeant didn't know what to think, Serah for all intensive purposes should be a glimmering formation on the _Lindblum, _not here. _

_Where was here, anyway?_

_Serah giggled at her sister. "Jumpy aren't you?"_

_Lightning crossed her arms. "Who are you?"_

_Her sister looked confused. "You don't remember me?"_

"_I remember my sister turning to crystal," Lightning snarled. "That's what I remember."_

_The girl looked sad, fiddling nervously. "You're in my dream, Light."_

_Lightning looked around at the sheer vastness of nothing particularly interesting._

"_You're telling me, my sister dreams of endless stars?"_

_She smiled. "Aren't they beautiful?"_

_They were; there was no denying that. Lightning still didn't completely believe the girl standing next to her. She looked identical to her sister, and she even sounded like Serah. Maybe she was telling the truth, and somehow the leader of the rag-tag bunch of l'Cie had managed to infiltrate her sister's eternal sleep._

_As farfetched as it was, she went with it. She didn't want to see this as just some crazed dream or hallucination. She wanted it to be Serah._

"_How.." Lightning questioned suspiciously. "Did I get here?"_

"_You died."_

_~ * ~_

"Lightning!" Vanille cried, spotting the body before the others.

The woman had been thrown to the other side of the road. Her body was slumped against the rising cliff wall, blood seeping from her ear. As the others ran over it became clear she wasn't in a good state, her body twisted into a form that wouldn't at all be possible without breaking a few things.

Fang reached her first, gently moving her so she was lying on her back. Lightning's eyes were open, but the pupils were massive and the cerulean irises had lost their entire luster. The tribeswoman gulped, glancing at Hope who seemed to be on the verge of tears or a behemoth-like rage. She shot a look over to Vanille.

"Get him away," Fang returned her attention to Lightning. "Can't work with children crying."

Snow knelt down beside her as Vanille hurried to Hope. He began to rummage through the pack he had brought. He dumped the supplies down onto the ground; potions, ethers and other random things clinking against each other as he madly looked through them.

"There's nothing here," he growled, slamming his fist into the ground. "Damn it, we can't let her die!"

"She's not gonna." Fang snarled, carefully she propped Lightning's head up. "Give me a potion."

"A potion doesn't-"

"Damn it Snow I know what a bloody potion does!" She roared, "Now give me it!"

He did it, watching as Fang ripped the lid off with her teeth and brought the bottle to Lightning's slightly parted lips. Her skin was beginning to lose any life it was holding onto, turning a horrible pale colour.

"Hold her up," Fang ordered, watching as the giant softly lifting Lightning to a sitting position. "Alright, let's see…"

She poured the blue liquid into her mouth. It refused to go down her throat however, and Fang found herself massaging Lightning's neck, hoping to get some sort of reaction.

"Come on," She grumbled. "Drink it you wretch, you don't get to die here."

It began to drain down, though whether it was into Lightning's stomach or lungs didn't matter much to Yun Fang. As long as it was _in_ her, the problem was being solved. Carefully she reached over and picked up a small, crimson pouch from the contents Snow had dumped onto the ground.

"You think that will work?" Snow questioned uncertainly, watching with mouth slightly ajar as Fang reached inside the bag and grabbed a handful of something.

"I've seen it done on Gran Pulse once," Fang admitted, holding her fist over Lightning's chest. "That was a while ago though, not sure if your feathers are different…"

_For Lightning's sake, they damn well better be the same._

She released from her hand, a clutch of shimmering, red and gold feathers. They fluttered down, touching Lightning's cold skin and abruptly turned to light.

Everyone held their breath.

Then, her fingers twitched. Ever so slightly but the movement was there, her eyes fluttered and she began to convulse.

"Fang…" Vanille sounded terrified. "I-Is that supposed to happen?"

~ * ~

"Lightning!"

_Lightning looked around, bewildered. _

"_Fang?" She questioned, hearing the woman desperately calling her name._

"Come on, wake up!"

_Lightning's chest felt strange, tingling like it was expand beyond its capacity. Her head was beginning to ache, and those beautiful stars were becoming brighter._

"_What's happening?"_

_Serah looked around, smiling comfortingly. "They're trying to revive you."_

"_Revive me?" Lightning blinked. "What happens then?"_

"_Then you go back," Serah nodded eagerly. "Unless you want to stay…"_

"_And if I do?" Lightning narrowed her eyes; the light of the stars had merged together. It was almost like staring into the sun. She shielded her gaze, trying desperately to keep her eyes on Serah. "Serah?"_

"_I…" She faltered her voice shaky. "I'm being selfish Light, this one time… You have to go back." _

"_What?" She stumbled forward, but sheer pain made her tumble to the ground. "S-Serah?!"_

_It's not that she sought to stay if she was truly dead, but her sister was right in front of her. Leaving her was the exact opposite of what Lightning wanted. _

"_Tell Snow… I heard him… Tell him he's doing alright."_

No! _Lightning tried so desperately to make words come out of her mouth. But she couldn't breathe anymore, and the paradise around her was feeling more like a mountain side. _Wait!

"_I-I'm…" She choked. "S-sorry…"_

"_There's nothing to be sorry about Lightning," Serah giggled. How maddening it was that she was being torn away from her sister. "But if it'll make you forgive yourself…"_

_Lightning could feel someone holding onto her, she felt for an instance warm and safe. She could feel cool air on her skin and hear the yelling from Fang almost as clear as day. _

"_Then I forgive you."_

"Lightning!"

Lightning choked, a rush of fluid was propelled from her lungs and out of her mouth. Her body trembled and her eyesight was blurry. Everything was a mess; she wasn't sure what was going on, only that it was focused around her. Her fists clenched as agony erupted through her entire left side. Her skin felt like it was burning clean off, and the air didn't help.

"Come on," the voice was still Fang's, who had insisted on yelling during her very strange, very confusing dream. "Light, you need to breathe."

She gasped, choking on the sudden rush of air into her lungs. Her vision was returning, and she found herself staring lazily up at the sky. It was clouded over; in fact it looked like it was going to rain. Lightning didn't really appreciate the rain, it was cold, and ruined perfectly good clothes.

Serah had always loved the rain.

Trying to speak was out of the question, as soon as she could breathe, a potion was shoved into her mouth. Lightning nearly gagged on it, desperately swallowing the drink they were so eager to shove down her throat. Painfully she could feel broken bones snap back into place and the fire on her leg being cooled.

"Ungh…" She managed to force the sound from her throat. It wasn't dignified nor intelligent, but it made her feel better that she could speak.

Or attempt too.

Of course, her brief encounter with consciousness faded. Her mind greatly protested to the sudden awakening from what should've been the beginning of eternal sleep. Her eyes fluttered closed, unable to stay open any longer. She did note however, that whoever was holding her was much too large to be Fang.

_Snow…_

* ~ *

She had woken up in a bed made of Snow's trench coat and the fur pelt off of Vanille. Her eyes took in the surroundings painfully slow, the darkness of night and exhaustion making it difficult to move. She was on her back, and her body felt oddly tingly. Lightning could hear the laughter of Snow and Vanille, along with a muffled cursed from Hope. She for the briefest of seconds wondered where Sazh was, but her memory fluttered back to her.

"Urgh…" There was that regal sound again. Lightning winced at herself.

"Well, look who's finally awake."

_Fang… _Light noted distantly, closing her eyes. The sergeant kept quiet, enjoying the darkness of her eyelids.

"Feelin' okay there sunshine?"

She _hated _that nickname; Fang had taken to calling her that for a while now. Lightning twitched, opening her eyes.

"What happened?" She groaned, feeling her back crack as she dared to move.

"Got yourself blown up, had to use an old Gran Pulse trick to revive you."

Lightning glanced over at the tribeswoman; she was leaning against the rock wall, eyes gleaming in the fire's glow. She reminded Lightning of a cat, with an instinctual predatory gaze and always so confident.

"What trick?"

"Pheonix downs are for the knocked out, not dead."

Lightning blinked slowly. _I… died? _Her mind drifted back to that strange dream, with stars and Serah talking to her. But she couldn't remember what her sister had said.

"Learned if you combine a phoenix down with a potent potion, you can jump start the body… As long as the fluids inside the body that is… " Fang tilted her head, seeing Lightning's distracted expression. "Something up?"

"… No." She went back to staring at the sky.

"Anyways, for the rest of the healing, thank Vanille. Hope was too busy raging about PSICOM to focus..." Fang snickered. "On a cure spell anyway, he could've certainly lit you on fire."

A long sigh escaped Lightning; she should be used to Fang by now. "… How pleasant."

"Yeah," Fang shrugged, "I advised him against it, didn't think you'd appreciate it."

Silence fell between them; Lighting caught that lingering stare of Fang's. She bit her tongue, groaning as she rolled over, back to the woman. This of course, didn't help at all. Now there was this itching sense that Fang was staring at her, an uncomfortable vibe that maybe she was getting closer. It was annoying, and as exhausted as she was, it seemed that emotion didn't need much energy to get started.

_Why…? _It kept replaying in Lightning's head, when there was more important things to worry about. Her dream for instance, she felt as if she had to tell Snow something, but couldn't remember what. Still, her mind floated back to Fang and that kiss.

"Fang…"

The woman looked up. "Hm?"

"… What's Pulse like?"

"_Gran _Pulse, jeez you'd think you could remember."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "What's _Gran _Pulse like?"

"Better." Fang smiled, her eyes tracing playful designs along Lightning's jacket. "It's better than this place, you people are babied."

The sergeant recalled her conversation with Hope, back when they were climbing through a food production facility. She had been staring at the fal'Cie Carbuncle.

"Pets." She noted dryly.

"Whatever you want to call yourselves, Cocoon is a walk in the park."

Lightning had never found Cocoon to be that easy, she turned over a bit to look at Fang, ignoring dull throb of pain in her abdomen. "So, nothing has given you a challenge?"

"No, well…" There was a flash of mischievousness in her green eyes. "One thing has."

"Has?" Lightning raised an eyebrow before turning back over and lying down. "You're implying the challenge is done with."

_What the hell are you saying? Stop toying with the idea you lunatic._

Fang's eyes narrowed, she leaned forward as her interest peaked. "Was I wrong?"

_No. It's over, whatever you thought there might be, and it's done with._

"… No.." Lightning closed her eyes.

"Ah, well then… Happy to be right I suppose.." Though Fang looked anything but glad, her eyes were downcast. Not that Lightning could see.

That gave Lightning some relief, and in return she shifted a bit to make herself more comfortable. This wasn't what it was supposed to be, she wasn't comfortable with the thought of anyone being closer then friends with her. Many would argue that she wasn't comfortable with having friends either, as she was quite cold to the lot of them that insisted on following her around.

Lightning felt Fang move closer, onto her bed despite the cold shoulder. Her bubble had been broken (again, much to her dismay), and as a result she shot up. Not making it to her feet but at least she was sitting. The pain that rocketed up her back and into her neck made her flinch. Fang was on her knees, arms crossed with an unreadable swirl of emotion in her emerald eyes.

Eyes that Lightning found herself hypnotized by for a long couple of seconds before she broke the gaze. She shuffled in dismay, putting a bit more distance between them.

"Don't get yourself into a rut." Fang stated rather bluntly, "You made your point."

"Tch." Lightning looked away, frowning. _Get bitter then, I'm better off alone._

"I'm tired," the tribeswoman clarified as she moved closer again. "And since I saved your life, the least you could do is share the bed."

"What?" she blinked.

"Plain and simple then," Fang collapsed onto her back, taking half the blanket. "_You owe me_."

"Uh huh…"

"Not objecting?" She teased, though barely a faded smile appeared on her face.

"No." Lightning frowned, defeated. "I guess not."

"Good."

Lightning bit her lip, staring at the room Fang had left her on the bed. Her body moved without her mind really thinking about it, she shuffled over, though her expression was less then pleased about it. She laid next to Fang, eyes looking in every direction except towards the playful woman.

Fang rolled over as the tense woman lay down beside her, her expression hidden by the back of her head. She was glad the sergeant couldn't see her face anymore, she looked frustrated. Lightning hadn't resisted the kiss at all, but she had certainly shot the idea down. It's not like Fang should've expected different, it took time to adjust to the idea. But it still hurt with such a rejection, even after she toyed with the idea.

Not helping her frustration was the edginess of Lightning, who seemed to be reluctant to relax.

"I don't bite."

Lightning didn't quite believe that. "I'm sure..."

She turned over, their backs to each other. The silence though, wasn't a welcomed friend. It was heavy and awkward, even with the occasional giggle or bark of laughter from the trio at the second fire-pit. Funny, how any other time the silence wouldn't have bothered her, but she may have hurt Fang's feelings.

That hadn't been her intention, not really. Lightning wasn't out to hurt everyone around her it just… Always happened. She found herself not being able to bear the burden, and spoke first.

"What makes Pul… Gran Pulse so different?"

Fang rolled onto her back, eyes mostly closed; she didn't see the curious glance Lightning gave her from over her shoulder. "A real sky." For an instant, the woman sounded miserable. "It's..." She chuckled lightly. "Grand."

"Endless stars…" Light quietly noted, relaxing a tad.

"Hmm..." Fang's eyes drifted across the sky longingly. "Endless stars…"

Lightning stared at the three near the second fire, their bodies' dark shadows because of the glow. They were enjoying themselves, like there wasn't anything terrifying about the fate they had been handed. She was faintly envious, finding that such bliss hadn't found her since she was fourteen. Her mind inadvertently drifted to Serah, who had retained such innocence.

_I miss you. _Lightning thought, shifting so she was using her arm as a pillow. _I miss arguing with you…_

"Light…"

She snapped out of her thoughts, but didn't budge. She could feel Fang's stare on her back. "Hm?"

"What's so great about Cocoon?"

She snorted; Fang had that tone of disapproval in her voice.

"Why?"

"I don't see how anyone can stay cooped up in here," she sounded amused. "Doesn't it get boring?"

A small, unseen smile formed on the sergeant's face. "I like cities during night."

"Oh?" Fang stared at Lightning, baffled. "Why?"

"Because of what you'll see."

"And that is?"

Lightning rolled onto her back, she stared up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle. Her dream danced in her head, with space all around her and standing before her was Serah with a smile. It was an image she wanted to cling too; it gave her some sort of futile hope. But her mind drifted to Bodhum, Palumpolum, and Nautilus. How the lights shined so bright against the darkness of night.

Once had Serah convinced Lightning to get on one of those flying bikes Snow loved so much.

_It had been near midnight, and she had involuntarily found herself clinging to Snow. They flew higher and higher into the sky, and she mentally remarked on how this probably violated the unauthorized vehicle height restrictions. Lightning was about to comment, but her eyes then caught the city, and the thousands of tiny lights shimmering in the shadows. Her fear of the brute's driving had diminished and she gently let go. Snow had seem surprised, turning to see if she was still okay, and more importantly, still on the bike._

_He had turned to see Lightning gazing in awe at the sight before her. Bodhum had never been that beautiful. She had given up on it after her parents died. She couldn't even see Serah in the darkness, only the dancing lights of passing vehicles and houses. _

"_You okay Light?"_

_Lightning met his stare; she had never given him permission to use that nickname. But it was better than him saying 'sis'. She nodded, their stare lingering a second or two longer then it should have before she went back to gazing out over Bodhum. _

_Snow gradually went back to staring at the scene, uncertainty flickering over his eyes. _

"Lightning?" Fang interrupted her memory, and Lightning just closed her eyes.

"Endless stars…" She replied coolly, sleep drifting near.


	5. Plan A

_Alrighty! :3 Thank you all for the lovely reviews! They're greatly appreciated! This chapter is a bit shorter… But don't worry, the next greatly makes up for it (Srsly, it does…)_

_Hope you enjoy~_

_(The only warning I have is my net is really messing up, so it might take me a bit longer to post. D: I had to reload five times to try and get to the Document Manager!)_

**Closer**

**Plan A**

"Damn it…" Lightning whispered, peering over the rock's edge and down the cliff side.

At the bottom was a wide trench, with large rocks scattered about before a small cove. Spread throughout the small campsite were PSICOM soldiers, most were basic though there were a couple of huntresses and grenadiers. Lightning scowled, while all those were a threat, there was something that concerned her a great deal more.

It was a large, metal ring about the size of one of the soldiers. With sparkling blue energy within it, that reacted when any PSICOM operative neared it. Lightning recognized it from the Hanging Edge; a similar version would release dog-like bio-weapons onto the field in the matter of seconds. She found it highly doubtful that this group who had been charged with bringing down the l'Cie would have such weak monsters at their disposal.

No, whatever was in that ring was something they didn't want to encounter.

"What's the plan?" Snow spoke from behind, keeping his voice down.

Lightning slid back down behind the rock. Sazh wasn't anywhere in sight, maybe there was a second group deeper into that cove. "They don't have Sazh…"

Vanille and Hope exchanged worried glances as the chocobo chick chirped, fluttering up onto the tip of the rock.

Fang bit her tongue; she wasn't one for elaborate schemes or thought-out plans. Her style was loud, and noticeable. She served if anything, to be a good distraction. Though to be honest Snow had her beat, he was massive and had the potential to be ten times louder than she.

"Distraction?" Fang offered, looking hopeful.

"We could go around them," Hope noted. "They haven't seen us yet."

"If we find Sazh and his captors call for back up, that's twice the number of people on us..." Lightning noted, switching her sword into a rifle. "From two fronts."

"Oh…" Vanille sulked for a second before snapping her fingers. "Then let's use Fang's idea! A couple of us distract them, while another group um.."

"Flanks 'em." Fang finished, a smirk appearing.

"Yep!"

Lightning and Snow looked at each other. The blond simply gave a shrug in response.

"Better than nothing?"

Lightning shook her head. "Alright…"

~ * ~

There had been worse plans in the history of man, she was sure of it.

But that didn't excuse just how BAD this idea was.

_Never let Vanille help out with the planning… _Lightning silently noted as she and Snow strolled up the 'road'. They could hear the footsteps of the PSICOM soldiers patrolling, and she wondered exactly how she had even let this plan be. It wasn't so much a plan anyways; it was all based on luck and improvisation.

Deep down she hoped there wasn't any explosives rigged to blow this time.

Snow had his hands behind his head as he walked, oddly quiet. Lightning shot him a suspicious glance; it wasn't like him to be quiet. He was loud, 'heroic' and idiotic. For him to be keeping silent was something that never occurred unless he was in danger of losing a limb.

_And even then, _She gritted her teeth. _He still doesn't shut up for long._

While she enjoyed the silence, it also nagged at her. She crossed her arms. "What?"

"Hm?" He looked down at her. "Sorry, I was thinking."

She blinked. "Really.."

"Yeah."

"… Huh.." Lightning shrugged the experience off, picking up pace a little.

"What?" Snow caught up with her. "What is it?"

"You never think."

He rolled his eyes. "I walked into that one…"

She didn't respond, instead just listened to the patter of combat boots. She could hear the rifles clink in the hands of the soldiers now, and something she caught wind of one speaking. Nothing important of course, just half a conversation to pass the time. Lightning's mind wandered despite the situation, she found herself wondering what he had been thinking about. It had to be something important, and exactly why was he thinking about it now? When they're walking towards battle with a large group of soldiers?

… Why was _she_ thinking about it now?

In fact why did she care?

Lightning let out a short, irritated sigh. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing important."

She let out a lazy chuckle. "I was never under the impression it was important Snow."

Snow shook his head. "You take every chance you get to insult me."

"It's a habit."

"Any chance of breaking it soon?"

"Not likely."

Snow smirked. "Can I ask you something?"

"No."

"See, this is why I don't ask." He noted, stretching a bit. "… Do you like popsicles or tacos?"

Lightning stopped, closing her eyes as she tried to take that question in. She pivoted on her heel, staring at him dumbfounded. It took her a good moment to find any sort of word that expressed her confusion appropriately.

"_What?"_

"You heard me." He grinned. "Pick one."

"Snow what the hell does that-"

"Just pick." Snow shook his head, taking the lead. "It's not that hard."

Lightning stood there for a second trying to grasp if there was anything remotely intelligent about that question.

There wasn't, and if there was, she couldn't find it.

"What does it matter?" Light questioned, stomping up behind him. "They're not even remotely similar."

Snow began to snicker. "True…"

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing."

"**Snow.**"

"Nothing!"

"fal'Cie be damned Snow! What is so funny?!"

"Look! l'Cie!"

Both Snow and Lightning looked over, finding themselves in the firing lines of all the PSICOM soldiers. Lightning growled, turning her head slowly back to the giant next to her. She wouldn't let Sanctum be the end of Snow Villiers, no. Not before she had the answer to her question.

She narrowed her eyes at him and pushed off of him. Either of the l'Cie disappeared behind rubble as the soldiers opened fire. Lightning popped out from behind her rock, firing a short burst into a soldier trying to advance. He gave out a short cry before collapsing onto the ground, holding his stomach.

"Snow!" she cried over the gunfire as he unleashed a black, spiraling orb towards one of the enemies. He looked in her direction.

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is so funny?"

He laughed, shaking his head as he watched her finish off the soldier he had hit with the ruin spell. "Lightning are you _that_ innocent?"

"What?" Now she was completely lost on the subject. Angrily she stood up and pegged one of the soldiers with a sniper rifle. "What do you mean?"

"Jeez Light! Think about it in a dirty sense!"

Lightning slid down behind her cover and thought about it. Snow burst out laughing as he saw the shock and then rage spiral onto her features. She glared all the fal'Cie's rage down onto him, and he knew he was in for it later.

"Son of a bitch!" She roared, racing across the space between them.

Maybe not later, Lightning seemed intent on killing him **now**.

"Light!" He cried, holding her back as she attempted to end his life. "Oh come on! This is not the time to murder me!"

"Argh!" She roared, infuriated further as she found herself unable to overpower him. She stopped with a huff, picking up her rifle she had dropped when she decided to strangle him with her hands. "You're _dead_ after this."

"Freeze!" A PSICOM soldier had his gun pointed at her head. Lightning's eyebrow lifted ever so slightly.

"You first."

With that, Snow unleashed a blizzard spell from his hands. The enemy watched as one of their own was rocketed across the field into the cliff wall. The firefight continued, but the l'Cie duo were gaining more ground, moving up carefully as the enemy was forced back towards the cove they were stationed around.

Of course, they were also beginning to learn. Lightning found herself constantly ducking down as rocket after rocket was shot in her direction. Twice they had almost nailed her, and both times she had only managed to duck because of sheer luck. Snow was four meters away, pounding on a soldier who had dared to get to close.

"Urgh…" The sergeant groaned, flipping open the communicator. "Fang?"

"_Sunshine!"_

Lightning bit her tongue. "We could use your help."

"_Right, one brilliant rescue coming up."_

There were numerous howls of pain as a field of fire erupted on a group of PSICOM men. Lightning peered out, watching as they flailed about and roared in anguish. Their armor beginning to turn red as the heat cooked them from the inside. She couldn't help but smirk, watching as another fira spell came flying down from the cliff top onto the same group.

They collapsed, one twitching for a moment before falling still.

Hope was up-top, hands glowing a bright, devilish red as another fireball formed before him and flew down towards the enemy. He dropped down behind a boulder for cover as the enemy opened fire on him. Snow advanced, leaping over a piece of scrap metal to tackle a huntress to the ground as she tried to reach Lightning.

Lightning narrowed her eyes, moving forward as she fired another burst towards the soldiers.

PSICOM was bewildered, they were attempting to focus their efforts on the berserker advancing on them, but from behind came a war cry. A huntress swiveled around just in time to see Fang thrust her spear into her chest with a sickening sound akin to snap and crunch of celery. The Huntress's jaw dropped in horror; slowly she looked up into Fang's hungry eyes.

"Sucks to be you," Fang offered, ripping the spear from her victim before she bounced onto off the cliff wall and smashed an offending opponent upside the head. He did two flips in the air before he smacked into the ground. "Vanille!"

"Hiyaaah!" She mocked a terrifying roar as she popped out from behind a twisted plate and whipped her staff forward. The four tight cables flew forward, hooking onto a soldier before he had the chance to aim at Hope. She flung him carelessly to the side, wincing as she watched him fly into a rock head first. "Oh… Um… Sorry!"

The soldier moaned; trying to right himself before an ice spell crashed into him.

The l'Cie continued to advance, drawing closer and closer until all that remained was a lone soldier. He wasn't as heavily armored as the rest, equipped only with a pistol. He gulped, watching as the magic boy from above slid down the cliff and joined his circling companions.

"Damn l'Cie!" He cursed his gazing falling on Lightning. "Y-you?" He gulped. "You're dead!"

"Tch…" Lightning switched her gun into its sword form. "I got better."

"You're the one who set the explosives?" Snow question; though the answer was obvious.

"I followed my orders." He spoke, fidgeting. "Plant the explosives, some soldier will remain behind to blow up Sergeant Farron."

"So.. You're a technician…" Hope commented, crossing his arms.

"Er… Yes…"

"Maybe we should keep him?" Vanille offered with a smile. "He could fix the ship so we can get out of here!"

"We shouldn't take the chance." Lightning replied, pressing the tip of her blade on the man's neck.

"Agreed." Fang's spear was at the man's abdomen.

The technician panicked. Without thinking he quickly brought his arm up and pressed a button on his wrist. He was dead a second afterwards, neither woman expecting him to react that way. Most men like him tended to try and bargain for his life. Lightning frowned; staring at the body slumped at her feet before looking at Fang.

"Uh… Guys…"

Everyone looked at Hope, who was taking steps back. Lightning shot her gaze over to where the boy was looking. She felt herself gulp, following her friend's example she began to back up. Everyone did, their heads craning as the beast rose up, nostrils flaring and calm green eyes turning to the brightest of yellows.

It was massive, a hulking monster of muscle upon muscle. Its face was vaguely canine, with lips curled back to show razor-sharp teeth easily the size of bananas. Its body was cast in armor that resembled PSICOM's, and long banners showing the insignia of the Sanctum hung from its head.

It glared at the group for a second, seemingly registering them all as foes before letting out a deafening roar.

"Retreat!" Fang cried, watching as the group responded to the order quickly as the creature slammed back down on its fours and charged.

It narrowly missed trampling Vanille as she ducked to the right; continuing its path of destruction straight through the boulders. They shattered with ease, rubble and debris being sent everywhere as the beast swiveled around and smashed its bladed tail into everything.

"Hey!" Fang looked at Lightning. "Got a plan B?"


	6. Plan B

_Plan B has arrived! No more waiting! I've been poked and prodded by both Haruka-chan212 and Provocative and Talkative. Well here you are, it is infinitely longer then Plan A and again focuses around combat. Because I love a good battle. :3 I'm one of those few people who enjoy level-grinding._

_Anyways, here you are! As always, thank you for the lovely reviews. More is to come, the next chapter has already been written. It just needs a to be read-over. D: _

**Closer**

**Plan B(ehemoth)**

Did she have a plan B? No, why did everyone assume that Lightning would have a plan worth noting? The very brief peace the creature gave them was shattered with another roar and suddenly a desperate cry from Vanille. Fang's eyes shot over to the scene, with a cry reminiscent of the behemoth's she charged and leapt at the creature. Her spear punctured through the thick leathery hide of the exposed shoulder causing the creature snarl in protest.

Vanille scrambled away, flinging a dark green, bubbling poison spell in its face for revenge. It choked, rising up onto its hind legs suddenly, making Fang tear the spear from its muscle and land a couple feet behind it.

Lightning gritted her teeth, the blaze edge shifting into its gun form. She took aim and fired, drawing its attention from Hope who was charging up a fira spell. The beast growled, collapsing back into the ground before breaking into a furious sprint. Her eyes narrowed as she challenged the beast and snapped her fingers.

The air around her rippled and wavered, blue energy dancing about as she leapt, defying gravity as she twirled over it, unleashing hell and fury from her rifle as the behemoth crashed head first into the cliff wall. It reversed faster than the woman anticipated; she hit the ground and was faced with another charge. Gritting her teeth she stood her ground defiantly, watching the monster approach.

Then came the fira spell, it crashed down onto the monster and set it ablaze. Snow rushed in from the left, leaping onto the smoldering beast, he began to pound away. It bellowed a mighty call as it rose up again, reaching over its shoulder. The blond didn't have time to yell out for help, he was quickly thrown to the ground.

"Snow!" Lightning cried, ignoring the behemoth that was turning its attention back to her.

"Light!" Vanille shrieked, unleashing a quick thunder spell. The lightning bolt crackled and flew across the field, striking the beast in the face.

It snarled; rage beginning to boil over it slammed its front feet on the ground. The earth began to shift and quake, stalagmites with razor edges bursting forth and standing the team spiraling in all directions. Lightning hissed in irritation, she had to get the ogre back up, if he stayed still it could cost him his life in this battle.

Another fira spell came barreling towards the beast. Hope however, lost his footing. He tumbled onto his back, just as a chunk of rock was thrown up out of the earth from the quake spell. He let out a stunned yelp as he flew into the air and came crashing back down.

Two down, three to go.

_Hope!_

Something came to life in the form of a hellish blaze inside of Lightning. She watched the body hit the ground limp, the boomerang sliding out of his grasp and onto the gravel that was falling still. She had promised to watch his back, and yet there he was, unconscious and at the mercy of an infernal bio-weapon. The woman charged; leaping on top of a boulder before bounding onto the behemoth's back. Her gun blade transformed, switching into its sleek sword form before being thrust into the creature's body.

The behemoth roared; probably sick of being backstabbed. It rose up again, reaching over its shoulder like it did for Snow. Only that left it rather open to Vanille, who wasted no time in summoning a powerful jet of water up from the earth. The behemoth's feet briefly lifted off the ground and came back down harder than anticipated.

Lightning's sword was torn from the fleshy back muscle and she was forcing to stab into its hip, cutting through one of the leather straps holding an armour plate onto its leg. Fang raced forward; twirling her spear she jumped off the ground and propelled herself its chest. The spear forced its way through the armour, shattering a section of it before it crashed into the monster's chest. Fang hung from her weapon with a somewhat amused smile on her face as she did a spin, swinging herself up to kick the beast in the face.

This gave Vanille the time she needed; golden light surrounded her as she stared at Hope, the swirls and wisps of magic dancing around her before sweeping over to him.

The spell slithered into his mouth and nostrils, and suddenly the boy was awake. He coughed roughly, muscles rejuvenated and back being healed miraculously.

"That thing is still alive?" Hope moaned, already beginning to conjure a powerful thundara spell.

"Aye, but we're getting the hang of it!" Fang called, trying to get her weapon dislodged from the beast. She grumbled curse after curse as she tried to yank the thing out of its flesh. "Give it back you bugger!"

"Fang!" Lightning called, as the behemoth grabbed Fang with its left hand and her spear in its right. The woman sprinted up the beasts back, sword in hand she was preparing to hack its head clean off.

Or attempt to, somewhere in the back of her mind Lightning had the clear doubt this plan would work.

But the fiend would have none of that, it stomped forward, throwing off the sergeant's balance and sending her to the floor as it flung Fang's weapon at Vanille. Who only survived the assault by dropping to the ground in a desperate attempt to save her own life.

The thundara spell erupted from Hope, crashing into the monster with the wrath of the fal'Cie behind it. The monster dropped Fang, letting out shriek of pain before reached up and tore a massive blade from its head.

Lightning groaned. At least that meant it was in about as good of shape as they were.

_**Oh shit**__._

She rolled, covering her head as dirt and rock went flying as the monster tried to hack her into oblivion. She kept rolling, over and over before scrambling behind a boulder.

"Hey!" Fang called to it, drawing its nightmarish gaze. "I'll handle you…"

The behemoth snorted, stomping away from the panting Lightning. The commando huffed, spotting the still unconscious Snow lying on the ground.

_Count on him to be utterly useless.._ She growled within her skull, and hurried towards him.

She leaned over him, glancing up to see her three friends desperately distracting the beast. Frustrated she turned her attention back to the knocked out Snow Villiers. For such a massive man he was certainly easy to defeat, to be fair though… This behemoth wasn't exactly something they encountered every day. She pounded her hands on the ground next to his head.

"Snow?" She questioned. She didn't have a phoenix down to wake up or a potion to help him, so she was left back to basic training. "Snow??" She pounded harder, tempted to slap him. "Eden be damned Snow! Wake up!"

He twitched, eyes fluttering as he murmured something.

"Serah…"

Lightning froze, the battle temporarily floating away as the stars and her sister came rushing back.

_"Tell Snow…"_

She blinked, tell him what? It was just some dream wasn't it? She was still frozen as his eyes slightly opened. Slowly his hand rose and touched her cheek with a gentleness that she didn't think he was capable of. She felt herself blush and was thankful that the others were much too busy trying not to die to notice what was happening between them.

Lightning brushed his hand off of her face.

"No, I'm not Serah. Wake up Snow."

_Am I a reminder to you?_

"Huh?" He sounded lost. "Sis?"

She held back a wince at that nickname. "I am not your sis-"

Snow's eyes went wide and he grabbed Lightning. She let out an awkward yelp as suddenly they were rolling (again). The behemoth had recalled the duo, and was now chasing them down with a giant sword and a horrible attitude. They scrambled to their feet, trying desperately to out run the monster who was quickly gaining ground.

Snow stopped; looking to his right he suddenly tackled the sergeant. They hit the ground hard and careened back into the small cove the PSICOM soldiers had been stationed around. The darkness of the cave was confusing, especially as there was a mangled roar and suddenly everything around them was shaking. The light from outside faded as the entrance collapsed, leaving the two trapped inside.

"Urgh…" Lightning groaned, her head clearing. She blinked, eyes adjusting to the lack of light she found Snow on top of her, as confused as she was.

They were both quiet for a second.

… _Almighty fal'Cie…_

Her gaze turned fiery. "Get. Off."

He threw himself off of her, putting as much distance between both of them as he could.

"Sorry, it was an accident."

"Where are we?" Lightning questioned, sitting up quickly.

"That cove they were guarding, it was the only place the behemoth couldn't reach us."

She frowned, looking around. Count on Snow to get them trapped in a cave with no food or water, and for all they knew the others were dead. "We're trapped."

"Well yeah…" Snow looked a bit foolish. "I.. Didn't work that into my plan."

"You had a plan?"

"Yeah, save your ass." He frowned, not appreciating her criticism. "Is that good enough for you?"

"Tch…" She crossed her arms and looked away, leaning against the wall of the cave. She didn't want to admit he had saved her, that wasn't in the woman's nature. Snow was a tool 90% of the time, if she said thank you, she'd never live down.

There was some muffled shuffling from outside. "Lightning? Snow?" Hope's voice came through the rubble.

"We're here." Lightning answered coolly, reaching behind her to draw her gun blade. She found it wasn't there.

_Damn it…_ She cursed, her eyes focused on the ground. _Cleaning it would've passed the time._

"Hey Light your sword's out here."

Lightning frowned, and it only deepened as Snow snorted, slumping down.

"I noticed."

"Don't worry you two; we'll get you out of there!" Vanille chimed. "We just have to wait for Fang to come too."

The sergeant perked up a bit, slight concern on her features. "Is she okay?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine!" The girl sounded as peppy as usual. "I just can't find the feathers and we're too worn out to use magic."

"So…" Snow spoke up, tilting his head slightly. "How long will we be in here?"

"Um…"

"A couple of hours?" Hope offered. "There are a lot of rocks…"

Lightning twitched, the thought of being stuck with Snow for hours was worse than having to face Fang alone again. She shot him a glare before she crossed her legs, trying to get comfy. But the uneven ground and hard wall was making that difficult. "Fine."

~ * ~

Time had passed slowly, every so often Hope or Vanille would come by to check on the two, and update them on Fang's condition. She was getting better, but it would be a bit before she woke up. Apparently the behemoth had hit her pretty hard as it collapsed. Of course, Hope revealed that the creature had actually pretty much fallen right on her, and without her guidance they couldn't move the rocks without risking the collapse of the cave.

_Fantastic._

Lightning had been quiet, Snow occasionally muttered something along the lines of bad luck and bad company, but she ignored it. She was trying to remember what Serah had told her, but it wasn't coming to her. She supposed she could be whimsical and say she would remember it when she needed to, but Lightning didn't believe such things. They were foolhardy and irrational, going on the idea that life would give you what you needed created the homeless and drifters that were part of the ugly underbelly of any city.

Of course, she was well aware she had in fact died, saw her sister, and came back only to find herself remember something when hanging over Snow.

_Urgh… _She threw the image out of her mind, rubbing her temples. _That's gonna stain… _

"Are you alright?"

Lightning stopped quickly, eyes focusing on the blond who looked a bit worn out. "I'm fine."

Snow just rolled his eyes; he didn't seem amused by the attitude anymore. He simply just looked away.

_What could possibly be bothering him? _She growled, leaning her head back against the wall. _Of course, the behemoth threw him, and then he endured an earthquake… _

The sergeant toyed with the idea she didn't care. It was easier if she just left the issue alone and thought about something else.

_Fang._

Her eyes shut tightly.

_No, not Fang. _

"Are you alright?" She mimicked his question, but it didn't have nearly as much concern.

Snow looked at her cautiously. "Fine I guess."

Lightning scowled. "You guess?"

"Not in the mood for you to pick apart my sentences, thanks."

The woman's slender eyebrow rose. He was on the defensive; Snow was never on the defensive. He was always ready to play word wars with Lightning; it was one of the very few things that caused the two to interact. His sudden cold shoulder didn't bother Lightning quite as much as she imagined it should've, seeing how long they've known each other, but it did nag at her a tad.

"What is it?"

The man shrugged, and winced at the movement. "I'm in pain, that's all."

"I find it amazing how it takes either an earthquake or a multi-story fall to cause you pain." Lightning commented, and watched as a small smile broke onto his face. He paused, looking at her curiously.

"There was an earthquake?"

She grimaced at the memory. "Yes."

"Huh…" He crackled his knuckles. "Explains most the pain then."

She frowned. "That's bad for you."

"What is?"

Lightning shifted so she was facing him, still leaning against the wall for comfort. "Cracking your knuckles."

"Really?"

"You'll get arthritis."

"It's a habit…" He admitted with a bit of a regretful sigh.

"I'll shoot you every time you crack them," She smirked, her tone a bit playful. "How's that?"

"I think I'll stop."

"Smart."

Snow chuckled, shifting positions. "Yeah well, there's a first time for everything I suppose."

Lightning looked up at the ceiling, boredom setting in. "Apparently."

And there was that looming, awkward silence once again. Lightning was getting sick of it really; couldn't she have one moment in the quiet she loved without it being strange? The feel in this cave was heavy and needed to leave, she couldn't wait for when Yun Fang to awoke and got around to helping them out. The sergeant hadn't thought about it, but the need for oxygen hadn't crossed their minds as an emergency. Her eyes looked at the rubble curiously, she couldn't see much light getting in, she wondered if air was.

She stood quickly and wandered over. To her relief she could feel wind, moving in and out gently.

"What's up?"

She turned to back, a hand on her hip as she glanced back at the wall of rock. "I was checking to see if we were going to suffocate."

Snow blinked. "And you're conclusion Sergeant?"

Lightning shook her head at him. "We'll survive."

"You're just brimming with good news."

"Hm."

Snow watched her sit down next to him; apparently he wasn't quite as annoying as before. Either that or she was cold and wanted the body-heat he tended to radiate. Serah had always loved that, any time it was chilly or cold in Bodhum she would run to him and just cling for the warmth. He had found it amusing; Lightning had just brushed it off for childish infatuation. Of course thinking of Serah had brought back a rather embarrassing note; he had been so out of it when he awoke on the battlefield he had seen Lightning and assumed it was her little sister.

Not good. He was surprised he wasn't dead yet. He may be a giant but Lightning was more than capable of killing him.

"Um…" He didn't dare look at her as he spoke. "I'm sorry, about before."

Her attention was now on him. "Pardon?"

"When I called you Serah, I'm sorry."

Lightning's eyes shot to the ground. "Its fine, we look alike and you were confused."

"Well, not completely alike." Snow smirked as the sergeant looked back at him, curious. "You're taller."

Her eyebrow rose once again and she chuckled quietly. The man was amazed such a thing escaped her. "Anything else?"

"You can fight; Serah trying to hurt a fly was something to see." He grinned. "She tripped once, over a stool. Fell smack into me." Lightning looked at him, oddly entertained by the story. "The fly lived."

"Really?" She snickered.

"Oh yeah, she would flail around if it came near her." He shrugged. "Then it'd stop moving and she's 'sneak' up on it…" Snow laughed. "She was about as stealthy as Vanille high on an ether."

"Oh Eden…" Lightning shook her head, her chuckle threatening to turn into a laugh. "Now _there's _an image."

"But anyways…" Snow got back to his point. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to confuse the two of you."

"_Tell Snow…"_

Lightning nodded, though she was now focused on her dream again. The images were a blur, trying to form them into a coherent memory was a challenge. She remembered the stars, and her sister appearing with a warm smile on her face. Lightning could see her lips moving, spelling out the words in an odd fashion.

_Tell him what? _She groaned, surprised with the irritated sound rumbled up from her throat.

Snow looked confused. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Lightning answered, back to her stern self.

There was a silence she used to think, but the ogre broke it once again.

"… I'm hungry."

She stopped, looking at him with a foul disposition. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"Feed me?" He grinned, but it quickly faded when she kicked him in the shin. "Ow! Jeez, lighten up, it was a joke."

Lightning scowled, crossing her arms. She didn't have any food, all of their equipment and supplies were out there, with Hope and Vanille. The woman hoped to hell that Fang was up by now, formulating a plan to get the two of them out of there. If not she would just use her magic and blow her way out. It was a simple method, something she appreciated.

_Clean and simple. The way everything should be._

She fiddled with her pockets, searching for something to amuse herself with until they were free. To her surprise, there was something in her inside pocket. Curiously she pulled it out, and looked at it.

An energy bar.

Lightning glanced at Snow, he hadn't noticed. Perhaps they could trade, she was cold, moving beside him for warmth hadn't worked quite as she planned. Her energy bar for his trench coat, it seemed fair. Either side had something the other wanted.

"Hey," she got his attention easily. "Give me your coat."

Snow frowned. "Why?"

"I'm cold."

"So move closer."

"No."

"I don't bite Lightning." He seemed a tad amused.

_Why do people automatically assume I think they bite? Have none of them ever heard of personal space?_

"I'm not moving." She brought the bar into view. "Give me your coat and you can eat."

Snow narrowed his eyes. "No."

"What?" Lightning was taken back.

"Just move closer."

"_Snow_…"

"Come on," He leaned back into what could be defined as a corner of the cave. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You _couldn't _hurt me." She countered with a hiss.

"See? You can kick my ass, now move over."

Lightning gazed at him warily, against everything inside of her she moved. Slowly next to him so they were just touching. The sergeant felt dreadfully awkward, but she was inwardly thankful for the heat he radiated. She let out a stiff sigh, trying to mask her discomfort. Lightning was well aware she was failing, Snow was quietly laughing at her.

"Shut up." She grumbled, not needing any true reason to order him about.

_You're an ass; I'll make you pay for this later._

Snow rolled his eyes. "You act like physical contact with another human being is torture."

"With you it is."

"And Vanille, Sazh..." He noted, and she just shrugged. "Hope's allowed to hug you though."

"He's a kid."

"As if Vanille isn't."

"She's nineteen."

"And how old does she act?"

Lightning shot him a glare. "And how old do _you_ act?"

Snow grinned, his voice testing her patience. "I think you like him."

She looked at him, shocked. "Hope?"

"Uh huh."

"He's fourteen Snow."

"Ah, but he's the only man allowed to touch you." Snow broke into laughter at her expression. "Probably the only man who has."

Lightning twitched, and moved away from him stubbornly.

"I do not date children_._"

"You're implying you've dated before."

"I have in fact."

"Really…"

"Yes Snow, I know it's amazing but I have." Her glare could've slain the behemoth, too bad he hadn't infuriated her beforehand.

"Like who?" He crossed him arms.

"I really don't have to tell you."

"… Probably a woman."

Lightning's eyes went wide at the accusation. She stood up, completely appalled. "W-What?"

Snow slowly stood, holding his ground defiantly. "You heard me."

"I like men you idiot!"

"I'm sure." He rolled his eyes. "You looked pretty comfy with Fang the other night."

_Oh no Snow, you did not just drag _**her**_ into this._

"Argh!" She clenched her fists and stomped up to him. "You just get off on annoying me, don't you?!"

Snow grinned. "You like Fang, admit it. You'd rather eat a taco then lick a popsicle!"

_If I had my gunblade, so help me Eden…_

Her face was that of absolute disgust, now she had to make her point. She was not, and never would be, gay. There was no way she could like a woman, there was no curiosity of exactly how any of that would work and she most definitely did _not_ like _Fang. _

"I do not like Fang…" Her words dripped with acid, doom in her eyes.

Snow leaned forward, challenging the woman. His cocky smile was something that burned into her retinas, and soon after his azure eyes bore into hers. They held in them every confidence that he was right, and Lightning was going to lose this battle.

The words slipped off his tongue in the most taunting manner the sergeant had ever heard.

"_Prove it_."


	7. Oops

_Seriously I need a better title but I can't think of one. So you get one badly named chapter. Thanks for pointing out the flaws :3, I'm thinking of asking for a beta-reader. Hopefully this chapter is better for random mistakes, if now… I'm sorry D: It's late and Provocative is prodding me for this chapter!_

_Thanks for the reviews! _

**Closer**

**Oops**

Hope looked at the cave oddly, taking a few steps towards it as he heard Vanille shuffling around behind him. Fang was coming around, her eyes were open and she was talking (or a variation of something akin to talking, he wasn't sure). Only she couldn't quite move yet, apparently the world did numerous things they shouldn't when she dared to stir. The boy tilted his head, watching as small beams of light began to shine through the cracks of the rubble.

"Hey…" He called their attention, Vanille bounced over to him.

"What's up?" she questioned. "Something wrong?"

"The cave…"

The light had grown, and the air seemed to turn dry. Hope recognized the feeling, the air around his hands when casting a thunder or thundara spell would do the same. Why on Cocoon it was coming from the cave was beyond him.

"Uhh.." He sounded nervous. "Fang?"

Vanille even looked worried; she ran over to her friend. "We have to move!"

Fang groaned; her world hadn't stopped spinning yet. Moving was completely out of the question. "Why?"

"Because-"

There was a very distinct _crack _as a bright light flooded their vision and sent the two crashing to the ground. As the light began to fade the _boom_ echoed outwards, sending pieces of rock and debris flying everywhere. The behemoth's body was even tossed; thrown off the cliff wall and onto the ground with a ground-shaking _thud_.

Hope coughed, slowly lifting himself off the earth he looked through the clearing dust to see a very familiar figure march proudly out of the cave. He blinked, Lightning looked normal, though her eyes gave away a very dark demeanor. She glared down at the boy before helping to his feet. Though the help was more a powerful yank into the air, at least he was up.

Snow appeared soon afterwards, keeping a good distance between him and the fearless leader.

Fang blinked, her recovering vision not helped at all by the sudden light show and explosion. "Quite the entrance."

Lightning didn't bother to look at her as she moved past the tribeswoman. She was staring at the path ahead, content on ignoring the group. She briefly glanced to her right to see Hope standing next to her, concern all over his face.

"Are you alright?" He questioned. "Was that you who did that?"

"I'm fine."

Hope didn't by it, but that death glare she was delivering subconsciously to the world warned him. He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Um… Fang's hurt."

"Tch." The sergeant crossed her arms. "Where's my gunblade?"

"Oh!" Hope took off, racing back to the trio. Snow was helping Fang off the ground while Vanille was frantically trying to find what remained of their supplies.

_She's been doing that for hours, she probably keeps looking under the same rocks. _

Not that the spell Lightning had unleashed helped that cause at all. She was grateful when Hope appeared at her side again, holding in his gloved hands her finely crafted sword. She swiped it from him, watching as it twisted back to being a rifle. It gave her comfort to know it was okay, and in one smooth motion she slipped it back into its sheath.

"I'm scouting ahead." Her words were cold, before any of them could even speak she finished. "By myself."

They all watched her trudge off into the distance. Fang frowned; Lightning was never that cold to anyone, not even after their kiss. She shot her eyes to Snow, who looked rather put-off. Against her better judgment she stomped up to the man with a noticeable wobble.

"Just what did you do?"

Snow's eyes looked tired as he met Fang's suspicious stare. He let out a sigh, and shuffled away from them. Unconsciously he fiddled with the crystal tear in his pocket as he collapsed against the cliff side. Sliding down and lazily ignoring the rock jabbing into his back.

_That's a very good question. _He noted dully, staring up at the overcast sky. _What did I do?_

~ * ~

Lightning kept walking. She was carving a straight path down the trench, not really looking for PSICOM. She couldn't focus on the task at hand, her mind was clouded. Her line began to curve and sway, the woman's balance becoming unstable as thoughts shot to the forefront of her confused brain. Lightning wasn't one to get confused often, a dirty joke could do it, but serious things she had always had a clear head in.

It's what made her a perfect soldier, and a perfect leader.

It hadn't made her however, a perfect sister or friend. Logical thinking and being prepared only got one so far. She had thrown herself so far into that train of thought, that emotion meant little to nothing. Since her parents had perished she had given up on friendship. Her sister she adored, but their bond was only strong because Serah had put in the effort to be there.

Lightning hadn't, she had put the effort into making money. She had supported Serah but never in the way a friend could've. That notion had spread to now, she shunned the people around her, opening up wasn't something a good soldier did. They had managed to get her to talk and even chuckle a couple of times, but never smile. Not really, not a true smile that meant something.

She had stopped walking; her hand on a rock to give her balance. Memories, thoughts and dreams were swirling around her mind and forming a twister of confusion. It was almost dizzying the effect they had on her.

_How many days did you take off? _Her own thoughts were beginning to betray her. _How many times did you ditch Serah for work? _

Clearly not enough, Lightning remembered being around Snow far too often for her liking.

_Why didn't you stay behind to make sure Fang was okay? _

Fang was fine, she always was.

_And Hope? You didn't ask him how he was; maybe he wanted to go with you._

Hope had Vanille, and he knew better then to follow Lightning around when she needed her space.

_You didn't offer to help Vanille, just scolded her efforts. _

The items are gone, they could always get more. The net didn't discriminate between ordinary people and l'Cie.

_You have a counter for everything, don't you?_

Lightning hoped it was over, her stomach was churning and legs were shaking. Maybe that near-death experience had thrown her for more of a loop then she thought. The massive thundara spell she unleashed probably didn't help the matter.

_Then counter this super soldier…_

She could feel tears on the verge of erupting. Her hands were shaking while her mouth felt dry.

_Why did you kiss Snow?_

"I…" She murmured, her eyes shutting tightly. "I…"

_No counter this time. Oh dear, you're not much of a friend __**or **__a sister. Kissing your sister's fiancée…_

"_Argh!" _She cried, watching as a sharp crackling bolt flew from her hand and slammed into a piece of metal a few meters from her.

She didn't want to cry, leaders never cried. So all that emotion was being twisted into pure rage. Her hand began to crackle and spark again as she spotted some helpless rodent scurrying by. The poor thing never saw it coming, with a bright flash it had been struck down in the most blatant forms of overkill imaginable.

"What's eatin' you?"

Lightning froze before she swiveled around. Standing there was Fang, head cocked and arms folded over her chest. The sergeant didn't budge as the other woman approached, hair swaying slightly in the gentle breeze this place had.

_How the hell are you up already? How long have I been walking?_

"I…" Lightning looked at the ground, trying to think. "Nothing… I'm fine."

"Really?" Fang snorted, looking at the smoking remains of the animal. "So, I suppose the little guy had it comin'?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes at Lightning's pathetic excuse. Fang stopped when she got closer, seeing the woman's flushed cheeks and watery eyes. She wasn't one to assume Lightning ran off to break down crying, but it looked like that's exactly what was about to happen. Against her better judgment she approached, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?"

"I said I'm fine." Lightning growled, shrugging off the shoulder.

"Alright," Fang shook her head, sitting down on rock. "Let's pretend you're _not_ fine. What would be wrong?"

Lightning was far from a child. She just gave the tribeswoman a hateful stare before going back to gazing angrily at the ground.

"Have you ever…" Light was unsure how to start. "Made a mistake?"

"Plenty," Fang smirked and gave a light shrug. "Remember? A behemoth fell on me."

The sergeant snorted. "Not quite what I meant."

She shrugged. "Answers still the same."

"Plenty?"

"Uh huh..." The dark haired woman looked at her companion with concern. Lightning didn't get like this often; she had only seen her depressed when mentioning Serah. "This about her?"

Lightning looked away, guilt coiling around her heart. "It always is."

_It __**always **__comes back to Serah. The rule hasn't changed._

"If it's a mistake," the tribeswoman stretched lazily. "I'm sure she'll understand."

"Hm.." She didn't believe Fang, but the idea was better than thinking about how furious her sister would be.

"Trick is," Fang stood up and stepped closer. She could see Lightning waver uncertainly, not sure what the encroaching woman was about to do. "To make yourself understand."

Lightning looked lost. "Myself?"

"You got it." Fang smiled confidently. "The reason people feel so bad, is that they can't forgive themselves for the mistake."

"Right…"

"Hey you may not believe me," She shrugged as if it didn't matter. It was up to Lightning to take the advice or ignore it. "But you're the one who's brooding over a mistake."

It wasn't like the mistake was a tiny one, Lightning knew better then to fret over spilt milk or some other little thing. But what she had done was wrong on so many levels it hurt to think about it. She appreciated Fang's words though, and they made some sense. The sergeant just wasn't sure if they could be applied to this particular problem. Brushing her bangs from her face, Lightning chewed on her tongue a bit.

It wasn't right what happened, but she couldn't change it. Not now anyways and eventually she'd have to talk to Snow about it.

_Wonderful... _She thought, glancing at Fang who was looking around.

"Fang..."

Fang stopped what she was doing and looked over her shoulder at their elected leader. Her eyes narrowed and a confident smile crept onto her lips as she watched Lightning point the Blaze Edge at her. The sharp tip of the sword gleaming in what little light the overcast evening allowed.

"What's this?"

Lightning's eyes turned to slits. "Round _two_."

~ * ~

"Ma'am."

The woman turned slowly, wearing a skin-tight flexible suit which was a dark blue-black. The suit itself didn't have much armour on it, in fact only the slender shoulders had anything at all. Sleek and curved plates that were a deep blue colour with an aqua rim marked this person's importance above the rest. Two small chrome chains from the shoulder-pads crossed just below the neckline and hooked onto small latches above either breast.

The helmet was slim and simple, the ocular covers glowing a crisp blue as she stared at the giant PSICOM warlord before her. Everything about her was purely figure; no defining features could be seen because of the suit. She preferred it this way.

She hadn't wanted to be disturbed and everyone here knew that, so this had to be important.

"Yes?" Her voice was smooth and charming, putting a couple of technicians around her at ease. They hurried back to work as she glanced over. She had no patients for slackers.

"The post at site A haven't reported in." He didn't seem to really care about them; his voice lacked any sort of worry or concern.

"How unfortunate…" She commented, picking up a data-pad. "Have you reported to Rosch yet?"

"No ma'am."

She stared at the soldier before her; he was about three times bigger than she was. Clad in armour that was antarctic white. He was a brute, using a two oversized swords and pure mass against the enemy. He was easily half the size of a behemoth, often dwarfing anyone he faced.

The woman did enjoy his company despite his aggressive nature. Of all the soldiers she personally picked, he was by far the most impressive in all aspects. He was inspiring both in charismatic values and fear.

"Good, no need to alarm him…"

"Their technician activated the ring." He growled, watching as she typed away on a datapad. "You're pet died."

She paused for a moment, her expression hidden behind her flex-material mask. "Did we receive any readings?"

"The behemoth managed to knock out three people before it fell." He touched the pad she was holding and brought up the information. "They were using advanced magic."

"Hm.." She snapped her fingers and a technician scurried over to her. She dropped the pad into his hands. "Their brands have advanced farther than anticipated."

"I can put them down ma'am."

"Now now," She patted him gently on the arm as she began to walk through the camp.

PSICOM soldiers were everywhere, but something was different about them. They were silent unless spoken too; technicians were scurrying about, trying to get a network established. The entire force was streamlined, no one was faltering or being distracted from duty. The only small chatter you heard was from those who had ended their shift and were taking a small break.

Near the back of the site was a ship and it was far from damaged in any way. The hull was crisp and simple, not a dent anywhere to be seen. The engines were dulling humming as the pilot ran a diagnostic to make sure they were in working order. Turquoise energy sparked and fluttered away from the spinning turbines on the end of either slim wing.

"Raiden you're enthusiasm is inspiring," she began looking at the monster next to her. He only grunted in response. "But we're not here to kill the l'Cie." Softly she touched his plated hand. A light blue shined through, beautiful and simple it revealed an eight pointed star. "Surely you remember that…"

"Of course ma'am." He noted, pulling his hand free and looking at the symbol through the slits in his massive helmet. "Forgive me."

The woman was quiet for a moment, mind wandering.

"How's the prisoner?"

"He's come too." The warlord growled. "Keeps mostly quiet except for the occasional complaint."

She gave in to her small sting of curiosity. "About what?"

"Food mostly, he's not worried about being captured. He's convinced his friends will save him." Raiden's voice rumbled like thunder. "So instead he complains he's hungry."

"I'll speak with him." She spoke quietly, before handing the beast of a soldier a small datapad. "While you can make sure the l'Cie are worn out."

Raiden chuckled darkly, looking at the display. "Of course ma'am."

~ * ~

The spear went flying through the air, landing with a soft thump as it hit the ground point first and became stuck in the muck. Fang looked back at it; highly entertained by the fact Lightning had disarmed her. The duel had lasted for about an hour now, and either of them were beginning to wear completely down. The tribeswoman shot her eyes back to Lightning, who had switched her sword into a gun.

Fang attempted to make a run for her weapon, but as soon as she moved, a cascade of bullets pelted the ground before her. She froze, looking back at Lightning in slight surprise. Lightning smirked and pointed the rifle back at her opponent.

"I win."

"With a gun?" Fang frowned, though it was a bit teasing. "Unfair."

Lightning rubbed her cheek, a red mark was appearing. "You're spear is a giant nun-chuck, don't talk to me about unfair. At least you knew my weapon turned into a gun."

The tribeswoman snickered, Lightning had been utterly shocked when Fang had twisted her weapon and freed herself from the warrior's onslaught. The result was the poor sergeant had been thwacked in the face by Fang's offending elbow, and then tripped to the ground.

Fang clicked her tongue, letting out the irritated sound. She hadn't counted on losing to Lightning, but apparently the woman had been out for vengeance. Either of them was covered in welts and bruises, hell Fang had more than a couple of cuts from close encounters with the Blaze Edge. Of course Lightning was no better off; her thigh was bleeding from a solid hit she had landed late into the match.

No hold bares matches were by far the most fun, though the aftermath they could both do without.

"Alright then Sunshine, you win."

Lightning looked annoyed and suspicious for a second before she dropped her guard. Fang smiled, now able to retrieve her trusty spear without the threat of being shot. They began to hobble back to camp, in complete silence.

Which for once, wasn't awkward.


	8. Dreams

_Thanks for all the reviews! I greatly appreciate them! I like seeing your opinions and criticism, makes my day! You're all so nice about it too, I'm always afraid people are gonna bite my head off. Anyways, thanks to SinisterPurr for beta-reading this! _

**Closer**

**Dreams**

_I would never admit they were my friends. Not willingly, I had this thing against caring about people. I was convinced that my heart was stone. Strong and dedicated to logic and the realities of life. Only one person ever dared to understand how fragile it was. How the smallest of cracks could lead to the entire thing turning to dust._

_There was a point where I would laugh and dance underneath the night sky with Serah. Where the only things that mattered were trivial and childish. _

_Deep down, the group that had formed at the beginning of this journey; they made me feel like that again. That it was okay to let my hair down and relax…_

"How was the scouting?" Hope questioned, cringing a bit as he spotted the gash on Lightning's leg. "Uh…"

"It was fine." She answered flatly, limping past with pride only Lightning was capable of carrying. Fang was behind her, smirking as she rubbed her bruised wrist.

"What happened?" Vanille inquired, the chocobo chick on her shoulder looking confused. "Did a Pulse-worker attack?"

The pink-haired woman kept quiet as she began to rummage though the bag of supplies. She kept her back strategically toward Snow, hoping to avoid any unwanted eye-contact. That could and probably would, spawn some sort of conversation she didn't want to have at the moment. She found one of the few potions they had left and, with it in hand, stood up. Her back cracked audibly but she ignored it, downing the drink instead.

The gash in her leg quickly began to heal, flesh knitting back together and wound miraculously cleaning itself.

"Did you find Sazh?" Snow asked from behind, Lightning dared to glance over her shoulder.

"No."

Fang watched the two with hidden interest. They were both acting odd around each other; Snow didn't have that same confident tone. Lightning on the other hand, wasn't even gracing him with an actual glance, just a feigned one over the shoulder.

"Maybe they took him back to Eden?" Hope offered; shoving his hands in his pockets as the wind picked up a tad.

"We haven't seen a ship though," Vanille pouted, collapsing onto the ground. The chocobo chirped in surprised, fluttering in the air for a second before landing on her head. "So they have to be here."

"Vanille's right, if they had left, one of us would've seen 'em." Fang nodded, stretching a bit before she winced. "Ow."

"Are you okay?" Now the girl seemed concern, Lightning rolled her eyes as Fang smiled.

"Peachy, don't worry about it." She offered in return as she looked up at the sky. "Gettin' dark, let's set up camp."

~ * ~

_Lightning sat unwillingly on the porch of her sea-side cottage. The wind was gentle and the sun was shining beautifully, but she wasn't one to relax. She sat in the seat on edge, watching meticulously as the clouds drifted across the sky. The breeze smelled of the sea, something she enjoyed in secret. In the distance was a massive relic of when the fal'Cie repaired Cocoon. _

"_Light?"_

_She looked over; Serah was standing next to her. A soft smile gracing her face as she plunked down next to her ever so serious sister. _

"_What's up?" Lightning questioned, trying to hide the concern in her voice._

"_You fell asleep." Serah giggled, leaning against the lounge chair. "That's unlike you."_

_Lightning's eyes went back to the scene before her. She inhaled deeply, taking in as much of home as she could. "I know."_

"_You miss home." The girl seemed downed by this fact. _

"_I miss simplicity," The elder of the two countered, looking down at her hands. "Bodhum gave me that."_

"_I didn't?" Serah frowned. _

_Lightning rolled her eyes. "You insisted on complicating things."_

_She giggled, looking at her sister with a gaze reminiscent of a five year old. "You miss mom and dad?"_

"…" _The soldier never thought about them, not after what happened. "No."_

"_No?"_

"_I don't think about them."_

_Serah looked thoughtful, resting her head on the arm of the chair as she gazed up at Lightning. Her stare wasn't nearly as critical as it usually was. "But you think of me."_

"_Uh huh."_

"_Why?"_

_Lightning frowned. "I shouldn't?"_

"_Well, you _did _say goodbye."_

_That was true, she had. Lightning noticed the sky was beginning to darken as the wind turned cold. _

"_Are you mad at me?"_

_Serah stood up quickly, crossing her arms. "Should I be?"_

_That storm was looming right over the cottage. Lightning wanted to head inside, but she was stuck out in the open. It was like she was glued to the chair, forced to face her sister who was glaring at her. Thunder boomed overhead and the wind felt horribly bitter._

"_I'm sorry..." Lightning replied shakily, unable to face her sister._

"_For what?"_

_She glanced at her sister, noticing her legs were starting to turn to crystal. Rain was pouring down, soaking both of them. Lightning wished it would rinse away the guilt and frustration, but it wasn't. If anything, it was making it worse. Her sister's eyes had never been so cruel and vicious._

"_Well, Lightning?" Serah's voice was no longer her own. Her voice sounded older and much more rigid. "What are you sorry for?"_

"_I…" Lightning blinked, unable to look away. Her sister was changing, her body morphing into a far more imposing form._

_The storm raged, waves crashing against the shore as a twister of sand and loose shells formed on the beach. The sergeant was staring at herself; her angry form was locked in crystal. She couldn't help but notice the brand, the red eye wide open as it glared at her. Whatever beauty was left of the crystalline statue shattered as a monster broke out. Slowly rising up to tower over the frozen woman._

_Unable to escape, Lightning cried out for help, but her cry was drowned out by the raging sea. _

Lightning awoke with a strangled yelp. The noise half escaped her but didn't rise loud enough to wake the others. She was lying on her back, staring up at the cloudy night sky. She frowned, touching her cheek lightly she found it wet, along with the ground. Apparently it had rained, that could explain the rather odd weather in her dream.

She groaned, stiffly she rolled over and tried to ignore the damp soil below her. She rested her head on her arm, closing her eyes again. Her mind began to drift again, closer and closer back to the world of dreams and nightmares. Lightning hadn't realized she was this tired, never before had she reach the odd in-between state of being awake and dreaming so quickly.

_There it was again, standing before her. A monster of dead-grey skin and black claws. It stank of rotten flesh and eggs, once human eye-sockets empty, just black holes of nothing._

Lightning jolted back awake, holding in a frustrated growl she sat up. The wind was as bitter as she recalled it being in the dream, making her flesh crawl and goosebump. The sergeant let a grumble escape her mouth, as she quietly stood from her resting spot and stretched.

Her eyes scanned the group, Fang was nowhere to be seen, Snow was sleeping against the cliff wall, coat tucked around him for warmth, Vanille had snuggled up to the ogre and Hope was about a foot away from the peppy girl. Lightning frowned, normally she wouldn't care where the proud Yun Fang adventured off to, but she was supposed to be keeping watch.

Not wanting to, but forced with no option Lightning kicked Snow in the leg. The man mumbled a curse and his eyes slowly opened. He stared up at the woman in confusion.

"Light?"

"Keep an eye out." She ordered coldly, turning from him. "Fang's gone."

"Uhh.." Snow didn't attempt to argue; instead he struggled to stay awake. "Sure thing."

Out of instinct Lightning chose the most likely hiding spot first, she walked right up to the cove she had escaped. Hopping over the behemoth's arm she found herself staring to the darkness of the cave. She could hear something in there, but she kept quiet.

"You toss and turn in your sleep," Fang's voice slipped out of the cave. Lightning could just see the shine in the woman's eyes. "Having a nightmare?"

"Just a dream." Lightning lied, stepping into the cove. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, she could see Fang's outline. "What are you doing in here?"

"Don't fret, I can still see from in here." She smirked, a gleam of mischief glinting over her dark eyes.

The sergeant ignored the look and crossed her arms. "So what are you doing?"

Her eyes almost completely adapted to the poor light, she could see Fang had the clothe she often draped over herself off. It exposed her midriff completely and her shoulders. Her tan skin seemed to shine in what little light made it into this dark hiding place, but it also revealed the small scars that Lightning hadn't really paid much attention to until now, some were probably from their sparring match. Others however, looked far older.

_Huh… _

"I'm relaxing." Fang offered as an explanation, playing with the fabric that was pooled in her lap. "Like that answer?"

"It's fine."

The tribeswoman chuckled. "Truth, you got me good in our duel. I've been lickin' my wounds so to speak."

"Oh."

Fang could see the expression on Lightning's face. It was unsure, though not of what Fang had just said. She didn't like seeing their elected leader so distracted, but she openly refused to speak of whatever was bothering her. She had only gotten a hint; that it had to do with Serah. She had expected that to be a part of it, but Lightning really needed other things to worry about.

"Care to sit?" Fang offered kindly, watching as the distracted Light plopped down beside her. She noticed how Lightning's infamous bubble had lessened. There weren't that far apart. "What happened to your bubble?"

Lightning looked confused for a moment; it was only after Fang gestured to the lack of real distance between them that Lightning caught on.

"Oh…" Exactly what comeback could explain this?

_I'm in desperate need for company that isn't a man or an angry dream-sister?_

Lightning doubted that would do. Instead she chose to not answer, staring at her hands instead.

Fang chuckled and shrugged, going back to rubbing her abdomen in select places. The sergeant sighed, cringing as she noted how her own body was aching from just about everything she had done today. They really needed a vacation, perhaps this eternal sleep thing wasn't as bad as everyone thought.

Fang visibly winced as she attempted to stretch. Her back and shoulders were killing her, and there was no real way to get them. She glanced at Lightning; the woman was content on being expressively blank while attempting to fix her bangs. Toying with the idea, Fang decided she had nothing to lose. Lightning was comfortable enough to sit that close, maybe she could be persuaded to help out.

"Can you help me?" Fang questioned, though she had always swiveled around and pulled her hair over her shoulder. Exposing her back. "My back is killing me."

"Uh…" Lightning couldn't catch the sound. That seemed to happen more often than she liked. She stared at Fang's back and strange skin-tight shirt in some wonder. It had multiple slits in the back, exposing her spine every so often. Each slit was about an inch apart.

"Well?" Fang frowned, looking over her shoulder. "Slip your hands under the shirt, you never done this before?"

_No...Well… Nevermind._

Lightning frowned in response and slid her hands underneath the tight shirt. Fang was muscle, though not bulky or heavy, it was lean and subtly defined. The sergeant found herself curious as to how the woman became like this in the first place. Was Pulse really that different from Cocoon? With an irritated huff from Fang, Lightning began. A bit awkwardly at first, she far gentler than the tribeswoman wanted.

"Come on Lightning, you kick the crap outta me but you can't press harder?"

Annoyance overcoming her, Lightning grabbed Fang's shoulder and dug her thumb in. Fang hissed, muttering a curse. Satisfied with her revenge, the sergeant became gentler, content with how Fang eased into her rubs and had ceased complaining. She could feel a knot or two underneath her tan skin, and quickly focused on getting them out.

Fang stayed quiet, stifling a chuckle as she thought of how her companion would react to a sudden moan of delight. Apparently they didn't need to talk at the moment. It was tempting though, but Lightning wouldn't give a reply worth a damn. The situation was probably far out of her comfort zone. Fang had to admit though, once Lightning got used to the idea she was rather good at the whole massage deal.

Then it ended and Fang stretched, thrilled at the fact her muscles weren't as sore anymore.

"Thanks." Fang swung around easily, coming face to face with her friend. "You next?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Aw, come on, I won't hurt you."

_That's not what I'm worried about. _"No."

"Come on, Light, you're tense. Everyone can sense it; I promise I won't try anything." Fang's eyes seemed honest, but Lightning stayed suspicious.

"… No."

"You can ask Vanille, I give amazing massages."

The image of Fang touching Vanille in anyway close to what a massage implied was not what Lightning needed at the moment. Her frown deepened and her brow furrowed. "No."

"I'll do it through your clothing then."

_Oh for the love of Eden! _"Why are you so insistent?"

Fang shrugged. "Alright then, have it your way." With that Fang slumped down against the cave wall and began inspecting her nails.

… _Damn. It._

"Fine." Lightning snarled, unclasping her jacket and removing it. She was thankful the cold wind didn't reach into the cove. Fang beamed, sitting up on her knees. She stopped as Lightning shot a nasty glare over her shoulder. "**Don't** try anything."

"Alright, Sunshine, you made your point." Fang shook her head with a snicker as she began. Lightning kept her breathing even, but the feel of the tribeswoman's hands on her lower back made a strange sensation shoot through the sergeant. "Just relax."

"I mean it, Fang."

"I know."

Lightning had to admit, Fang was as good as she claimed. Her posture had basically vanished, she was slumped over. Her muscles tingling as they finally relaxed completely due to the expert kneading of Fang. Occasionally she would wince or murmur something when her friend found a particular sore spot, but besides that she was silent. Fang cursed every so often when a knot refused to break, but past that she was as quiet as Lightning was.

Then the woman's eyes began to droop.

_Can't fall asleep… _Lightning thought, not even realizing that she had shifted and was lying down on her stomach. She had formed her jacket and cape into a pillow with her arms curled around the clothing to keep it in shape. _Fang can't be trusted…_

She felt Fang stop and inadvertently muttered something in protest. Fang smirked, watching with a shady gaze as Lightning shifted a bit.

"You awake, Light?" She questioned, shuffling between the woman and the wall. Lightning's eyelids were delicately shut, her eyes shifting a tad as she dreamt. "Guess not."

Fang tilted her head at her the sleeping woman, biting her tongue in thought. "I said I wouldn't... _Technically_ I promised."

Well that was a horrible promise to make as it was hard to keep. Lightning looked so peaceful, her face wasn't stone neutral or angry; it was innocent. Fang was amazed at how blissful someone could appear when they drifted off into the world of sleep. Gently, she lied down next to the gunner, facing the ceiling before she turned her head to look at Lightning's face again.

With a reluctant sigh she went back to the stone roof above her.

"Night, Light..." Fang paused, thinking about it for a second. She snorted, rolling her eyes.

That inevitably fell back on the sleeping beauty.

"… Sweet dreams."


	9. Distractions

_I apologize for this taking longer than the others. I sent it late to SinisterPurr ^^; Either way, it's here now! Thanks again to SinisterPurr for beta-ing it! And for everyone's helpful advice and lovely reviews! :3_

**Closer**

**Distractions**

"Duna… Duna…"

Vanille giggled, opting to be a ninja as she scurried up to the cave entrance. She could barely contain her excitement; she slunk as quietly as she could next to the behemoth, noting how it was beginning to smell a little rotten. Wiggling her nose in disgusting she almost cried out her distaste when she remembered she was on a mission.

Fang and Lightning had shared a cave last night, and this excited the little red-head to no end. She raised her foot carefully and emphasized her silent step over the monster's tail. Happy that she hadn't tripped yet, she confidently strode forward. Eyes widening and her mouth gawking in dismay as her toes caught the edge of the monster's tail.

"Eeep!"

She crashed onto the ground, doing a full roll down inside the cove before coming to a halt on her behind. She groaned, suddenly clasping her hand over her mouth to stop the noise (it didn't help though). Vanille looked around cautiously, examining the cracks in the roof and walls before her eyes fell upon a sleeping beauty.

Or two, in this case.

There was Lightning, jacket off and used as a pillow, right up against Fang. Her eyes were shut and her body on its stomach. Fang was leaning partially on top of her, arm draped over the strawberry-blonde's side with her hand resting firmly on the sergeant's bare shoulder. Fang's lower portion was also half on the pink-haired companion, one leg effectively pinning both of Lightning's.

"Oh my…" Vanille snickered, crawling closer to Lightning. On closer inspection it was revealed that Lightning was using both her jacket and Fang's other arm as a pillow. Fang on the other hand, had taken most of her crush's cape. "Don't you two look comfy…"

The sergeant murmured in her sleep, shifting a tad. In response Fang's own grip tightened protectively.

"Vanille?"

The whisper came from one groggy tribeswoman, who was staring at the girl through barely opened eyes. Vanille simply smiled, waving a quaint hello. Fang blinked, looking down at what exactly she had subconsciously done through the night.

"Oh…"

Vanille tried to stifle her giggle. "Yep."

"This," Fang bit her lip, feeling the slumbering woman move and brush up against her. "Isn't what it looks like." As lovely as it was, no, Fang was definitely not that lucky.

"Uh huh…"

"I promised her I wouldn't try anything." She looked a little irritated.

Vanille snorted, again clamping her hand over her mouth. "Looks like you lied." She teased, winking.

"You're not helping."

"I know." The grin on the girl's face was wicked. "What happens when she wakes up?"

Yun Fang ran over her options in her mind. "I'll run." She frowned. "Fast."

"Very fast."

Lightning began to stir, turning completely around so she was face to face with Fang. Their faces were millimeters apart and Fang now had her leg wrapped around the sergeant's hip, pressing lightly against her, something the sleeping woman took as a hint to move closer. Fang's free hand flexed, her fingers curling into frustrated claws as Lightning's bent knee rubbed against the woman's inner thigh.

"Awkward, huh?"

Fang looked down at Lightning. She was slightly curved, her forehead barely touching Fang's shoulder. Still the irritation showed, and Vanille found it hilarious. It was so odd for Lightning to act like this, but to be honest when they slept she often kept at least a foot behind anyone.

_Because she's a clingy sleeper? _Fang clicked her tongue in thought. For all it was worth, Lightning may be a snuggler when she slept but as soon as she awoke the tribeswoman held no illusion. She was going to be in pain.

Lots and lots of _pain._

"Very awkward."

"Maybe she won't hurt you?" Vanille tried to offer Fang support, or some sort of hope.

"In what world would Lightning not hurt me for this?" The woman countered with a definite edge to her voice. "I-"

"Light??"

Vanille swung around as Fang gazed wide eyed at the entrance of the cove. Hope was calling for their leader, a leader that should definitely not be disturbed until Fang found a way out of this.

"Uh oh." Vanille looked back at her friend for an order. If Hope found the two of them like this, who knows what would happen.

"Go!" Fang whispered harshly, glancing nervously down at Lightning who was beginning to frown.

"Light?" Came the voice again, closer and louder this time. Vanille sprang out of the cave, arms flailing.

Hope gave Vanille a curious look as the peppy girl bounded out of the cove like a bat outta hell. He blinked as she grabbed his arm and made him do a rough turnabout so he was walking back to Snow with her. She ruffled his white-blond hair playfully causing him to smile, but he still seemed unsure.

"Um… Hi, Vanille?"

"Hey, what'cha up to?"

"Looking for Lightning, actually." He frowned as Vanille kept pulling him along. "Is she in there?"

"Her and Fang are talking." The girl offered, hoping the boy would buy it. "Kinda private."

"Oh."

"Yeaah, come on. Let's go talk to Snow!"

Hope frowned, that wasn't exactly high on his list of things to do. But he didn't want Light mad at him either. "… Alright."

Despite being on death's door, Fang had made no attempt to escape. She stared at Lightning with curiosity, watching as the woman's eyes moved underneath her delicate eyelids. She was dreaming, about what Fang was unsure of, but the rapid movement meant something either entrancing or terrifying. The tribeswoman drew a pattern softly on the bare arm of her friend, knowing full well that she was going to receive a lot more than a slap for this.

She could, at least, unwrap her leg from around Lightning's hip.

_Where's the fun in that? _Fang mused, a devious smile appearing on her lips.

".. Fang.."

She looked down; Lightning had said her voice so clearly. It had an authority feel to it but as Fang inspected the sergeant's features, it seemed she hadn't woken.

She smirked, brushing some of Lightning's bangs from her face. _She's dreaming about me, how lovely. _

Of course, the gentlest of gestures were abruptly halted. Lightning's eyes were open, and those soft cerulean irises were turning to ice.

Fang gritted her teeth.

"Oh _Bugger_."

~ * ~

Sazh was quiet, face twisted into a frown as he sat in the middle of a PSICOM squad. They were different from the others that had captured him, they were strict and by the book. Nothing about them seemed human at all; hell he wouldn't be surprised if the whole group of them were secretly fal'Cie in disguise.

Yeah, as if _that_ would happen.

Despite this, he found himself curious. They had moved him per orders by the tight-suit woman, but instead of wisping him away to Eden or some other PSICOM controlled hive, he was brought towards his friends. He only knew this of course, because he recognized the trail. No one had bothered to try and hide it from him, it's like they wanted him to know.

Much too easy, they had to have a plan. Unfortunately, the old man didn't know it.

Not yet, anyways.

"Hey, big boy."

The massive _thing _in the white armor turned. He could feel that seething glare coming from behind those dark slits. Sazh however, couldn't care less.

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you."

Raiden stomped over to the prisoner; hand on the hilt of his larger blade. "What is it?"

"You think they won't be able to tell this is a trap?"

The brute snorted, shaking his head. "Apparently becoming an l'Cie doesn't make you intelligent."

Sazh rolled his eyes. "You talk tough, but you got me chained down. Other than throwing up a big sign that says 'TRAP', you couldn't tip them off any better."

"I assure you, we've thought this through."

Sazh shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable. It was then he noticed, as Raiden turned his back, that all the soldiers had guns that didn't look typical. There didn't seem to be any that were assault; all were in the design of a single-shot rifle. Even the ammo cases looked different, instead of having an explosive or flammable warning symbol on the side, they had…

_Biohazard? _He blinked, _What's going on?_

"Sir."

Sazh looked over to where the massive soldier was. Another had just approached him, saluting in respect as the giant turned. It was hard for the captive to believe there could be anyone larger than Snow, but there he was. Towering in heavy armor that made him into something of a steel fortress.

"We spotted them in the narrowing pass, should we intervene?"

"No." Raiden looked down at his data-pad, tapping the screen. "The commander has another idea."

"Of course, sir."

Raiden chuckled, turning to see Sazh pretending he hadn't been listening. The man shrugged, it didn't matter if the prisoner heard or not. Soon enough his friends would be down and out for the count.

And that's where would he come in. He didn't like easy wins, sometimes they were worth it. Just to see the faces on the victims.

~ * ~

The group was silent.

Snow hadn't spoken a word since they had moved out, Fang was trailing the group, rubbing her jaw with a pained expression, Hope was right next to Lightning and Vanille was too busy counting the clouds to say anything important. This was the sort of environment their leader thrived in. Quiet let her think, and that's all she had been doing. She had been trying to determine what their opponent would do next, how they could counter effectively and most importantly: how to get Sazh back.

She had been distracted the last two days, now, on the third day she decided that kissing Fang, kissing Snow and waking up this morning entangled with Fang weren't worth the distraction they had caused. As awkward as any of the circumstances had been, she had to focus on saving their pilot. Then they could find a way out of this fal'Cie forsaken hell-hole and get back to the _real _mission.

_Yes. _

Of course, there was that small chance that the mission was providing a convenient distraction from the three problems listed before.

_No._

Of course not.

Lightning led the way, only glancing back at almost exact intervals to make sure that someone hadn't died when she wasn't looking. It seemed they were all alive every time she checked, though Vanille had a tendency to trip and hurt herself. At least Lightning didn't have to worry about a fiend getting her, apparently the only cause for concern was the red-heads own severe lack of balance.

"Oof!"

And down she goes.

Lightning stopped, hand on her hip she faced the girl who was sitting awkwardly on her bum. Hope hurried over to help her up while Snow, hands behind his head, came to a stop. Again, he seemed to be making sure there was enough distance between the sergeant and himself so he could run as fast as he could if she decided to shoot him.

Tempting, but they needed the distraction.

Fang however, didn't have any problems closing the distance between them. Lightning shot her a glare, but her friend seemed to ignore the warning. She stood next to the leader and yawned, winced a bit as her jaw ached.

"Ow."

Snow blinked, tilting his head a bit. "Hurt yourself?"

"Sunshine decided to hit me."

_Don't shoot her; we need everybody to face PSICOM._

Hope blinked. "Why?"

"She fell asleep in the cove, I woke up and she was snuggled up to me."

… _Shoot her._

"_Snuggled_?" The boy looked at the pink-haired fury, she looked ready to kill.

"Aye, that's right. Lightning snuggles."

Vanille clapped her hands. "I think it's cute." She recoiled from the doom the sergeant was now bestowing upon her via eyes.

Snow was the only smart one; he didn't dare say a word. He just kept his mouth shut, taking a step back when Lightning looked in his direction.

"What about you?" She questioned, voice burning with anger. "No smart comments?"

"Nope, not today." Snow smiled. "I choose life."

"Tch." And with that she walked away, everyone was surprised she hadn't countered anything said.

And there was that lovely 'speak-and-I'll-kill-you' silence. Ah, friendships.

They only stopped briefly when they reached a point where the chasm narrowed and went deeper into the rocky terrain. They could see the bottom; it was full of broken rocks and stalagmites. Lightning frowned, if anyone fell during the climb over, it would be the end of them. Hope and Vanille concerned her the most, but the Pulse girl could probably be nimble if she had too.

Or, at least, the sergeant hoped she could.

"Oh, wow." Vanille dropped onto her fours and peered over the edge. "Look at that drop!"

Fang rolled her eyes. "Nothin' we can't handle."

Hope didn't share the woman's confidence. "Can I, uh… Stay back here?"

"Nothing stops a hero!" Snow grinned confidently, inwardly wincing from Lightning's glare. "Come on, kiddo, you'll do fine."

Hope frowned, crossing his arms. "I guess you missed the sheer drop?"

"He'd live through it." Lightning noted, leaning against the rocky wall near the narrowing gorge. "He's too stubborn to die."

Snow snorted, the words escaping his mouth before he could stop them. "Same goes for you."

Fang glanced between the two before tugging Vanille to her feet. "Shall we go then? Or stand around here while PSICOM makes off with our pilot?"

Without a word Lightning went first. As the two women from the planet below cleared away, she ran. At the edge she leapt, flying through the air and landing on the small, jutted ledge. Vanille clapped, cheering their leader on. Lightning glanced back at the group before moving on, lightly jumping to the next ledge.

And so began the most dangerous game of hopscotch ever played. The order was rather odd, Lightning lead, with Snow just behind her. Vanille was after him, followed by Hope and finally Fang. Everything was rather easy going, as long as none of them looked down it seemed no one had a problem.

That was until Snow landed on the larger ledge with Lightning.

The ground audibly cracked, and quickly pieces of it fell away before the ogre had a chance to move. He let out a cry, desperately trying to grab something as he began to tumble downwards. His fall was cut short however, by Lightning.

Her hand grabbed and locked onto his arm. She groaned; her body tugged down flat onto the rock when Villier's body weight came into the equation.

Lightning gritted her teeth as Snow grasped onto her arm as he hung there, twenty stories above sharp rocks and boulders. Panting from the air being roughly forced from her lungs, she glared at him.

"Why is it," Lightning growled, hoping to whatever fal'Cie that might take pity on them that this part of the ledge didn't crumble. "That I'm always saving your ass?"

Snow had a comeback, but he wasn't sure this was the greatest of times to let it out.

"Are you okay?" Hope cried, he was standing on the same platform as Vanille, and Fang had pole-vaulted to the other side of the gorge to try and reach the duo. She nimbly bounced from ledge to ledge, before she swung hard and landing on the ledge in front of Lightning's.

"I'm fine!" Snow answered, looking down, his eyes widened. "I'm just… Enjoying the view." He glanced back up at Lightning, but then shot his eyes away.

"I bet you are." Fang snickered.

"_Fang." _Lightning snarled, shooting a look over her shoulder.

"Right, I'll be quiet."

"Uhh.." Hope bit his lip, glancing past the older trio. "Guys…"

Vanille began to panic, watching as four flying figures began to move towards them. They had massive, spherical packs on their back which expelled greenish-blue energy into the air. The men themselves were wearing predominantly white suits of armor, with large, intimidating rifles in their hands.

"PSICOM!"

Lightning let out a growl of frustration. This was **not** what she needed at the moment.

"Oh sure!" Snow yelled, looking entirely pissed off. "_They _get jetpacks!"

"You want one?" The sergeant looked at him, eyes gleaming with an idea.

Snow seemed to catch on, smirking. "Hell yes."

"Good." With all her might, Lightning swung him to the left, his body almost reaching above the top of the ledge. "Then go get one!"

As Snow swung to the right, she let go, rolling a bit from the momentum before stopping just short of the drop to the bottom. She watched, panting as the massive blond flew through the air and crashed into one of the men. The soldier howled in surprised, dropping his rifle as the jetpack tried to compensate and began to wobble.

It was a surprise when they opened fire on their own, blowing it clean out of the sky. Snow just managed to let go in time, falling away from the blue explosion. He landed with a heavy thud onto one of the shaky pillars standing in the middle of the ravine. It began to sway under his weight; unevenly going back and forth as he carefully began to stand.

Fang turned to Lightning, but before she even spoke Lightning cut her off.

"There is no Plan B!" She roared, firing a round at one of the aerial snipers.

"Alright!" Fang clicked her tongue. "Plan C then?"

_Oh for the love of Eden…_


	10. Plan C

_I'm so sorry this took longer than usual, I've had some life issues that needed dealing with. I hope that the rest of the chapters come at the usual three day intervals, but it might take me a little to get back into the groove of writing. :3 Thank you to SinisterPurr for beta-ing!_

**Closer**

**Plan C**

Spells and bullets were flying.

Many people operate under the assumption that spells always hit their target. This isn't and currently wasn't the case. Spells would follow their intended victims for an extent, but there was a point where the spell simply detonated where it was or just faded from existence. Bullets had a somewhat similar problem, while you could aim and fire; the opponent could avoid the shot and simply fire back with whatever. The advantage bullets had over magic where they were _wicked _fast, avoiding a gunshot had to do with luck rather than speed.

It just so happened, these snipers had both luck and speed. They were out-maneuvering the spells and somehow dodging Lightning's shots. They had switched tactics to basically distracting the foes from getting a clear shot at the blond-wonder on the wavering platform. Snow was a brilliant guardian, he was large, intimidating and could challenge anyone or thing he wanted…

But he was only a good guardian when he was _alive. _

He was having one hell of a time staying alive with the bullets, spells and the unbalance of the shaky plateau he had landed on. Lightning would've found it amusing had his life not been in immediate danger. She rolled out of the way of another volley of bullets and fired a quick shot back. The bullet ricocheted off the massive jetpack, leaving nothing but a small dent.

_I don't suppose I could throw Snow at them again, they might see him coming._

"Light!" Hope called over the chaos; he and Vanille had formulated a plan. "Keep me covered!"

_What do you want me to do? Jump up and down and hope to hell they shoot at me?_

Grunting she stood up and pointed at the sniper. "You, come get me."

He paused, considering his options. His teammates were having an easy time, to be honest. It seemed that the l'Cie were much easier to handle when they literally didn't have even ground. His confidence got the better of him and he flew closer, taking aim.

He fired a shot and cursed as Lightning nimbly slid to the side, making good use of the little ground she had. He tried to hit her a couple of times, each time getting closer but never managing to land the hit. Lightning was having the same sort of luck; he would dodge when she fired.

Hope gritted his teeth, in his hands an orb of water sloshed and bubbled wildly. It was a difficult spell, something he noted he should have practiced before trying it in the thick of battle. Vanille was next to him, her clenched fists sparking and turning the air dry with static.

"Ready?" He questioned, nervous about how Lightning was beginning to tire of dodging.

"Uh huh!" Vanille nodded.

He threw his hands forward and watched the orb almost daintily glide towards the soldier. He saw it and tried to dodge. Lightning took her chance, firing a couple of shots, one hitting the man in the chest and denting his armor as the rest hit the jetpack. The watera spell erupted, it didn't precisely hit the man, but the wave of liquid splashed over him.

"Hnnn!"

Lightning visibly winced at Vanille's war… Noise… She didn't want to say what it sounded like.

_Maybe it's a tactic, distract the enemy via… Arousal?_

…

Anyways.

The thunder spell crashed into the soaked sniper. He screamed, limbs shaking and becoming uncontrollable. He managed to see the element take its toll on his oversized flight unit though. It shot into the circuits via a small bullet hole Lightning had made and tore the wires inside apart.

There was a small explosion and the man let out a cry of defeat. His pack smoked heavily as he tumbled down and crashed to the bottom of the gorge.

"One down!" Vanille cried reassuringly, watching as Fang bounded from a center pillar and onto the jetpack of another.

The soldier roared in anger, spinning himself around as Fang hacked and slashed at his pack. The other moved away, putting distance between him and his ally who seemed to be intent on creating a whirlwind. The tribeswoman spiraled off, thrusting her spear into the canyon wall before perching upon it. She snarled, infuriated her plan didn't work.

Five against two, in any other situation this fight would've been going smoothly.

Only the group hadn't trained on cliffs, they were rather good on full ground, where one could run and not have to worry about any sudden falls. This was entirely out of their league, Fang had the easiest time moving around, but she was almost completely close-ranged. Vanille and Hope had to work together to bring someone down, and only if one of the others was distracting enough.

Seeing as Fang couldn't land a ranged-hit for the life of her and Snow was too busy doing some strange survival-jig to keep the pillar balanced, it was up to Lightning.

Lightning was the only one with a weapon that could deal damage to ranged foes compared to the others. Fang had a nun-chucking spear, Snow had his fists (typical man), Hope had a boomerang, and Vanille wielded a damned _fishing rod_!

The sergeant stared at one of the snipers, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Vanille!" She cried, catching the girl's attention. Lightning pointed towards the sniper aiming a shot at Fang. "Go fish!"

It took a second for the order to make sense, but as soon as it did the girl whipped out her strange, magic staff. Bracing herself for the pull she was no doubt going to feel she whipped the rod forward, watching as four lines of tight, steel wire shot out and glided through the air. The razor hooks clinked against the jetpack and slid along the smooth surface before they latched onto something.

Hope didn't waste any time, his eyes glowed white as the wind in the gorge picked up. It howled like a demon as it rushed towards the foe. A couple of the shaky pillars blew right over, crumbling to the bottom to cause massive clouds of dust to explode upwards. Everyone was at a lost in the darkness that ensued, except for Hope.

His eyes were fixated on his enemy, a figure of white. Gritting his teeth he began to make his hands circle around each other. The gust acted accordingly, centering its chaotic attention on the man. He roared in anguish as the spell picked up, the gust turning into a full blown twister that spun him around harshly.

The dust cleared and now the soldier was wrapped in wire as the other had been taunted by Lighting. Fang chuckled, the man looking over at her, only his mask hiding his undeniable fear. The woman braced herself against the gorge wall, defying gravity for a moment as she tore her weapon from the rock wall, pieces of it going flying to the bottom.

"Let's try this again.." She beamed, launching herself off the wall. She twisted in the air, bringing the tip of her lance crashing down onto the man's head.

Vanille winced, covering one eye as she watched the spear slip in one side, and explode out the other. Fang stood on the jetpack, keeping rather good balance as she eyed the other one.

The sniper eyed them all; Raiden hadn't said that they would be this adaptable! They had been sent here to catch them; the behemoth should've tired them out enough for spells and super-human reflexes to be out of the question. Gritting his teeth he moved back, putting distance between himself and his opponents.

"If I'm doomed to fall…" And he knew he was. "I'm taking all of you with me!"

Snow took an unsteady step back as the jetpack on the soldier's back began to flash and blare alarms. The energy pouring out of the vents turned red, almost like it was spewing magma.

Fang looked confused, keeping her floating perch steady. "What's with him?"

Lightning didn't know either, watching curiously before the white panels on the contraption began to fall off.

_Oh no…_

"Run!" She ordered, watching as the rest of the group reacted to her command instantly. Snow made a daring leap to the other side of the gorge, and began bounding away, hot on the heels of Fang.

An impressive burst of speed for a man the size of an airship.

Vanille jumped passed her, and Hope followed. Lightning was last, bringing up the rear, glancing back as she heard the soldier almost cackle.

There was a light sort of 'pop' before a brutal rush of air blasted them. Vanille was thrown three ledges forward, and Hope nearly tumbled to his death before Lightning grabbed his ankle (of all things) and flipped him into the air. He landed smack flat on his belly and groaned.

"Get up." Lightning snarled, like she was talking to a new recruit who was failing basic training. Hope snapped to it, taking off again.

A quick glance showed the blond idiot and Miss-Jumps-a-Lot were just peachy, leading the way. The sergeant inwardly grumbled, she didn't like being the slowest, but she had to make sure Hope made it to the end of the pass. Daring her luck, she looked over her shoulder and felt herself pick up pace. Masking her fear behind determination, Lightning bolted, threatening to trample the boy.

A wave of energy from the rigged jetpack was cascading towards them. It was consuming the gorge, blowing over pillars and crumbling ledges as it quickly gained ground on them.

"Hope!" Lightning roared, now by his side. "You'd do well to pick up the pace!"

Fang had reached the other side; she hit the ground and rolled. Ducking as a not-so-graceful Snow flew over and smashed into the wall.

Vanille had an odd grace about her; she seemed about to trip most of the time. She would turn that flounder into a jump, so she was almost bouncing her way to the finish. The girl landed almost neatly next to Fang, if not for landing a bit hard on her bum.

"Oww…"

Fang watched on edge, that blue wave was dying down, but it was eating away at whatever they could use for jumping material. Snow and Vanille moved up beside her, gazing on as Lightning forced the fourteen-year-old to work harder. They were running faster than any of them had ever seen, but Fang could see the ground beginning to crack under their heels..

"Come on!" Snow called, Fang holding him back from jumping back out there. Her intense gaze shot back out to Lightning.

"Hurry up!"

"Oh no…" Vanille gulped.

Hope was slowing down.

Adrenaline could only get him so far.

It wasn't going to be far enough, as Lightning shot past him.

Lightning didn't even stop; she pivoted gracefully on her heel and went sprinting back for the boy. Her curse was drowned out by the odd thundering noise the wave of energy gave off, but her expression told all. She was now basically carrying Hope, forcing his desperate limbs to work harder as the duo ran for their goal.

The pink-haired woman could feel the ground crumbling beneath her feet. With a roar she tossed him, the boy went flying into Fang, who let out a started yelp as he took her down.

There wasn't anyone holding the beast of a man back anymore. He sprang forward, the distance between the frantic Lightning and himself closing. Vanille called out to him as Fang cursed, struggling to get the flailing kid off of her.

_She can save herself._

Snow gritted his teeth, heart-pounding in his ears. Lightning had that gravity-trick; that was true. But what if it didn't work? What if it malfunctioned because of the blast or was out of juice?

_You're not going to make it._

The cliff-edge was in the middle of them, both mere feet from it and each other. Snow's eyes widened as Lightning's feet got caught up in the rubble and debris she had been racing along. He watched her begin to fall out of sight, their eyes locking as true emotion shot from hers into his.

Fear.

Pure, unhindered and uncontrolled fear.

_And down she goes. _

"No!" Snow cried, purposely sending himself onto the ground. He slid to the edge, his hand shooting down to try and grab something, _anything _of hers.

There was a rumble as the energy smashed into the cliff he lying on, and smoke began to rise. His eyes slowly opened, glancing down nervously. What if he missed? What if he hadn't managed to grab her in time? The cloud blocking his vision cleared at an agonizing pace, but slowly a form filtered through. Lightning was in his grasp, she hung in his ferocious grip, covered in soot and dirt.

She coughed, realizing she wasn't dead or falling, her own hand wrapped around his wrist. Locking.

"Hi." Snow offered, honestly surprised he made it in time.

She snorted, dust exhaling from her nostrils. ".. Hi."

The blond smirked, raising a brow at the woman. "Why is it," he began, watching her expression turn to something close to annoyance. "That I'm always saving your ass?"

"Tch, pull me up."

"Yes, master." His grip tightened as he began to lift. "Of course, master…"

The ground shook, and Snow looked down to see the floor below him begin to give way and tumble.

Lightning shot him a glare.

_Ah shit._

"… Sorry, master?"

*

"_Lightning,"_

_Lightning blinked, looking around confused. She was standing in space again, but still could feel the rush of air from free-falling. Pivoting the woman came face to face with her sister, hair tied up in a cute side-ponytail, just like before. It wrenched at Lightning's heart a tad, for the reminder to be in front of her, so clearly._

"_Serah?" She was confused. Had something hit her during the fall? "What are-"_

"_You have to tell him Light," Serah insisted, taking a step towards her sister. "You have to."_

_Lightning couldn't find the right words. Faintly, in the back of her mind she could hear Snow. He sounded frantic, like he was trying to wake her up. The sergeant frowned, looking to the floor as her arms folded over her chest. It wasn't healthy to keep getting ignored; it was causing her to halluc-_

"_Lightning, please," Serah grabbed Lightning's hand. The woman looked at the gesture, like it was foreign and strange. "You have to."_

"_Tell him what?" She shot back. "What's the message?"_

_The girl looked torn for a second. "You don't remember…" Her eyes were cast at the ground. _

"_I don't." Lightning narrowed her eyes. "I tried."_

_Serah smiled weakly. "You'll remember… You just…"_

"_I just?"_

_She giggled, waving. "Have to stop being afraid."_

_*_

Lightning's eyes shot open. The wind was rushing by and she was in a head-first dive towards the ground. Instantly she moved, seeing Snow beside her almost look relieved she was awake until reality dawned on him. Awake or not, they were both plummeting to their almost certain death. She directed her body closer to him, grabbing firmly onto his arm.

"You're awake!" He called. "I was worried I'd have to catch you!"

Lightning frowned, and snapped her fingers. There was a spark of blue from her hand before… Nothing.

Nothing happened.

_Oh no. _Her eyes shot to her hand as she desperately tried to make the AMP-tech kick-in. _No, no, no…_

"Uhh, Lightning," Snow frowned, noting how the ground was coming fast. "Now would be a GREAT time to defy gravity!"

"Shut up!" She snarled, snapping more furiously. "Damn it!"

"Alright," Snow grabbed her, and flipped them so he was going to get the brunt of the impact. Lightning froze, being hugged by _him_ was one thing, but being hugged by him while falling to their most certain doom was something else entirely. "Plan C then!"

Lightning gave him a look. "Plan D, idiot."

Snow rolled his eyes. "Yes, master."

"_Don't_ start."

"Why not?" He grinned. "We're about to die, it's not like I have you to fear."

"_Snow_…" Lightning growled, watching him shake his head. She stared at her hand intensely, biting her lip in concentration. Her eyes narrowed, turning to slits as she snapped her fingers.

Once.

Twice..

On the third the blue energy crackled to life, surrounding Lightning and spreading to cover her ally as they fell. Though the fall seemed to gain a tad bit of grace, it was far too late. Even as they begun to slow, the sergeant felt Snow come to a suddenly halt as they met the surface of the gorge, and then she slammed into him. The hit was enough to send her mind reeling as she bounced carelessly from Snow and smashed down onto the ground with a hard _thud. _

"Urgh…" She groaned, eyes fluttering. "Snow?"

No answer.

She couldn't move, her limbs decided it was better to lie still.

"Snow??" She sounded concerned, something that surprised herself.

He groaned, but didn't respond past that.

"Argh…" Lightning's eyes closed. "I hope you don't expect me to haul your ass back to the top…"

She could've sworn the man snorted.

"Oh…" Unconsciousness began to claim her. "Shut up…"


	11. Gravity

_TADA. Looky how fast I'm updating! 8D This makes me unbelievably happy, seeing as I rather like the whole 'pump-out-chapters' thing. Thank you all for the reviews and replies. They're greatly appreciated; I hope this chapter puts us back on track. :3 _

_Though I must say some saddening news. Closer's end is drawing near I'm afraid. A couple more chapters and the story will be over (or will it? Hrhrhr). _

_Please keep reviewing, comments push me onwards! _

_Thanks to SinisterPurr for beta-ing!_

**Closer**

**Gravity**

"Lightning!" Fang cried as she, having thrown Hope off of herself; scrambled to the edge. She stared down the gorge, eyes wide as she watched the two of them hit the bottom and lie there, unmoving. "Curse this fal'Cie ridden rock! Girl falls off every cliff she bloody well finds!"

"Snow fell too…" Vanille commented; grimacing as Fang pushed past her, shooting a nasty look.

"Where are you going?" Hope questioned, rubbing his head. "They're the _other_ way."

"You any good with that aero spell?"

Hope crossed his arms as he sat on the ground, had she missed his fantastic ability back when fighting those soldiers? He was almost insulted, but really he was a little too concerned about the others well-being to rant to Fang. Instead, the boy kept his annoyed face and nodded.

"Good, you need to soften my landing."

"I- Pardon?" Hope gawked, even Vanille looked surprise.

"Fang, not to point out flaws but-"

"There's no other way to get down there." She growled, taking a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves. "Unless one of you happen to have a magical, flying eidilon?"

"Oh well…" Hope gritted his teeth. "That would be a-"

"No…" Vanille finished, appearing a bit sheepish as she helped the boy to his feet and nearly tumbled over herself. "But the spell could push you down faster too!"

"So help him out." Fang ordered, "You know aero don't you?"

"Well of course! I know a lot of spells-"

"Then you'll help him soften my landing.."

"You're… Oh… Oh Fang this is a REALLY bad idea…" Vanille watched as Fang prepared herself.

"What happened to your endless optimism?"

The girl bit her lip, eyeing the fall. There was only so much one could do, and that was a very long jump. Snow and Lightning were probably dead, not that she wanted to think that. She had automatically assumed their leader had thought of something to save the duo before going splat on the ground.

She eyed Hope, who seemed puzzled.

"Um… Fang?"

"Eh?"

"How do you plan on getting back _up?_"

"Well," Fang thought about it, and a smirk appeared. "I'm assuming Snow, having survived a fall before, is alive. He has the twins of Shiva, in which case we can all jump on his fancy bike and just motor out."

"Ah…" The boy nodded, as it was a fair point. "And if he's dead?"

"I'll infuriate Lightning to the point she sprouts wings and becomes the angel of death."

"Good to know you have a back-up plan." Hope didn't know whether to be amused or horrified.

"So, what do we do?" Vanille questioned, looking around.

"Guard this point." Fang stretched, almost ready.

"Right." Hope rolled his eyes. "We'll guard this speck of insignificant rock for you."

"You're a peach." The tribeswoman nodded with a half-smile before bolting towards the cliff. "Seeya soon!"

She dived head-first, eyes narrowing as she began her decent towards her two friends.

~ * ~

Raiden stared at the data-pad, his unseen eyes narrowing to fuming slits as he tried to figure out what happened. The plan had been perfect, so exactly how all four of the highly-trained, well-armed snipers had perished was beyond him. Hell, the last one had activated the contingency plan, something that was frowned upon but it had its uses.

"She won't approve…" He murmured, turning to face the prisoner. Sazh had been awfully quiet, he hadn't even complained about his possibly empty stomach. He caught Raiden's hard stare and huffed, shifting to try and get comfortable.

"Something go wrong?" He was taunting the warlord, something that many would call foolish. "All your precious snipers die horribly?"

Sazh could only hope that was the case.

"Actually," Raiden stomped up to him. "Yes. All four are dead."

The prisoner beamed, a confident smile gracing his old face. "Well now, that just bites, doesn't it?"

"Hmm…" The man didn't reply at first, choosing to ignore the comment. "I suppose I'll have to handle this then."

"A…" Sazh blinked, looking worried. "What?"

"Well, since your friends are proving to be such a nuisance…" Raiden's hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword. "The commander won't mind if I deal with them myself."

"Hey now, don't you want us all for public execution?"

"No."

Sazh fell silent; watching as the tank stomped off, leaving him in the care of the other soldiers. Something about this entire PSICOM group was off; they didn't have the same protocols he had witnessed before. It made him on edge, watching them all work seamless, something that in their group, only Lightning seemed to be capable of doing.

That brought him some hope. Lightning was the best fighter he'd ever seen. If anyone could stand up to Raiden, it was the pink-haired soldier he had met on the train a while ago. The rest of them however, weren't quite as formidable.

_Come on guys… _He looked around; his eyes catching a glimpse of what looked like an airship in the grey sky. _Times runnin' out._

~ * ~

She was surprised the plan had worked as well as it did. Fang was standing at the bottom of the gorge, which was now smooth and rather plain due to the energy that jetpack had unleashed. The canyon seemed to have this new, glossy shine after the brief battle they had above.

Fang would've admired it more so, but she was on a rather tight schedule. She had to find the two free-falling morons and make sure they were all right. Listening to her own footsteps echo in the chasm, she strode forward, head held high as she scanned the scene. Her eyes fell upon Snow, lying on his back.

Huffing she hurried over, kneeling next to him to check his pulse. It was there, and was stronger than she imagined it would be. Fang rolled her eyes; it was somewhat surprising she had forgotten just how resilient the man could be. This wasn't the first time he had fallen from outstanding heights and made it through.

"Alive then," she smirked, patting him on the shoulder. "Perfect. Now, where's…"

Yun Fang spotted the woman farther down the canyon; she was up on her feet, using a shaky arm against the wall to stabilize herself. The tribeswoman frowned, stepping over the lug lying on the ground, she approached Lightning. Admittedly, a bit cautiously, she wasn't sure if the girl would be in the right mind after meeting the floor so abruptly.

"Light?"

She looked over her shoulder weakly, wavering a tad. "Fang?" She sounded lost. "How did you…?"

"I jumped."

"Hn…" Was the reply, followed with a short exhale. "I should've guessed."

"Aye, you should've. As if I'd take a road."

Lightning snorted, choosing to turn and lean against the wall. "He was awake," she gestured to Snow. "But he hit the ground harder than I did."

"Ah." Fang glanced back at the man. "Well, I'm sure he'll live."

"He always does."

"Oh ho, do I hear annoyance?"

"Tch," Lightning looked away, finding the balance to be able to cross her arms. Of course it didn't last, even with her back resting on the wall; she swayed and had to bring her arms out to steady herself.

"So…" Fang had been slowly closing the distance, she wondered if Lightning had even notice. "Ready to go?"

Her eyes fell onto Snow again. "You plan on carrying him?"

Fang frowned at the man. "No."

"Then we're staying until he gets up." Lightning had the ability to haul his sorry ass out of here, but not at the moment. When she walked the world would twist and contort itself into a shape it shouldn't be. "Or until I recover."

"Maybe you should sit down then?"

Lightning hated sitting, for the simple fact that she was so used to standing and being on guard. Sitting allowed her time to think of other things, to get distracted. Last time she had allowed that to happen, some of the strangest things had happened to her and she wanted to keep that to a minimum. She shook her head, instantly regretting the action as her mind felt fuzzy and body grew weak.

She nearly fell, but her progress to the ground was halted by two hands gripping either of her shoulders. Lightning's body turned stiff as her eyes refocused to find her rather nicely tanned companion in front of her, holding her up.

"Oh…" Lightning's eyes narrowed. "You being this close never ends well."

Fang smirked, eyes seeming to pick up a shine at that remark. "I didn't hear any complaints."

One of the sergeant's neat brows rose. "No, but you felt them."

"I did at that," Fang dropped her hands from holding the woman. "But…" She inched closer, amused to see Lightning back up fully so her back was right against the wall.

Lightning stiffly gulped, feeling like she was a mouse cornered by a cat. "But?"

_Oh no, why did I ask that? _

She attempted to dart away, only to find Fang's strong arm blocking her escape route to the right. She gritted her teeth, looking back to find the tribeswoman's face mere inches from hers. Lightning was getting rather sick of this, her own thoughts had been betraying her for days, and her body had taken such a beating it just didn't have the energy to run. She could've easily slipped out and put distance between herself and her captor but she didn't.

Probably wasn't going to either, Fang was just another opponent. Lightning didn't like running from battles, she was a soldier. Soldiers didn't _run_ from _anything_. Including a Gran Pulse woman who seemed intent on popping her bubble every time she had the chance.

_It's getting rather old, actually. _She thought; her confusion filtered onto her face. _Besides if I run I'll fall over. Then she'll have to help me up._

"Somethin' up?" Fang caught the look, she backed off a tad. "Still playing the 'impossible-to-get' act?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes at her words. "It's not an act." She retorted, crossing her arms as she managed to keep her balance in check. "It's a fact."

Fang's smirk turned into a small, sly smile. "Is it now?" She moved closer, inches turning to millimeters. "Shouldn't you be runnin' then?"

_Yes but, as previously noted, I'll fall over. _

Heart in her throat, she watched as Fang's eyes flicked down to her lips. Lightning nervously licked them, seeing that coy smile grow a tad larger at the gesture. That hadn't been her intention to make them appear more inviting; she just did it by instinct. The pounding in her ears grew louder as that second dragged on and on.

_Falling over isn't that bad, at least then you'll be kissing the ground not-_

Fang gently closed the distance between them, placing her lips on Lightning's. She could feel the sergeant's subtle movements, pressing back with the slightest bit of strength that Fang might've never noticed it if she had been kissing anyone else. She was admittedly surprised that Lightning had responded at all, it wasn't like their first kiss. She had let her guard down, but this was a kiss placed on the woman's lips when her defense was already lowered from that horribly long second.

A second that had been necessary, but she hoped to hell it wouldn't be for their third kiss. Assuming she lived through this experience.

_I wonder if she noticed she's kissing back?_

Lightning wasn't supposed to have a thing for kissing people. She was _Lightning Farron, _the untouchable older sister of the Farron family. Not Serah, who'd just fell head over heels for the first dolt to look her way.

Of course, Fang was far from a dolt. Maybe there was an exception in there somewhere.

_You kissed the dolt._

Lightning parted, eyes fixed on the ground as she thought about it. She still hadn't spoken to Snow on the subject, and now she was here, against the canyon wall with Fang. Serah had always gone on about how a first kiss should be special, in some sweet environment that helped the mood.

_Peh. _Lightning had thought, and still thought. Her first kiss with Fang had been in the Vile Peaks. How exactly was that inspiring?

_And to add insult to injury, my second kiss with her is in the same damn place…_

"Hm…" Fang broke that silence that Lightning wanted to last. She saw how the woman she had trapped didn't look at her, just kept her eyes on the ground. "… Cute."

The pink-haired beauty looked up slowly, unsure of what Fang was talking about. "What do you mean?"

She backed up, giving Lightning some room. "I mean you, you're cute."

… _What? _

"Uhh…" She was really beginning to hate that sound. "T-thank you…?"

"Urgh…"

Both of them turned, Snow was beginning to move. He groaned as he lifted himself up, going into a short coughing fit as he tried to stand up. Fang rushed over to him, grabbing his arm and steadying him as Lightning chose to stay by the wall.

_I'm cute? _She frowned, glancing at the two of them. _I wouldn't peg me for cute..._

"W-what…" Snow choked, gasping for breath. "H-how did you…" He paused, seeing the tribeswoman smile. "You j-jumped… Didn't you?"

"See?" Fang grinned at Lightning. "He gets it."

"Hm." She rolled her eyes. "Give the boy a cookie then."

"A cookie?" Snow feigned giddiness as Fang helped him straighten out. "Oh goody, please mummy?"

Lightning glare seethed with a deep rage. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing, master…" Snow winced from the pain in his back. "Ow…"

"Alright, well I jumped down here to make sure you two were alive." Fang had her hands on her hips as she looked back up. "It's up to one of you to get us up there."

"Well," Snow shot a look at Lightning. "We certainly won't be defying gravity will we?"

"Shut up, Snow."

"Well summon your precious bike," Fang ordered, nodding towards the man. "Then we can drive up outta here. Like you did in Palumpolem."

"Right." Snow looked at his brand. "Mind if I catch my breath first?"

"Take your time." Fang shrugged, eyeing Lightning. "We're in no rush."

"Tch." Lightning turned away from the two.

_At least the world has stopped spinning._

~ * ~

Hope kicked the ground, watching as the pebble that had been his plaything for about fifteen minutes rolled towards the edge. He had a thing about heights; his body always seemed to lose its sense of balance when he saw sheer drops. Vanille, as he had observed, didn't have the same sort of hesitation about the entire thing. She was skipping along dangerously close to the edge, happy as can be.

_How can she be that… _He didn't even have a word for it. _Just… __**That.**_

She seemed to catch his stare and waved giddily, bouncing up to him. Hope slumped against the boulder he had been ordered to guard. The girl sat down next to him, humming a happy tune.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, her accent made him wonder if all people from Pulse sounded like her and Fang.

"Nothing… I'm just…" He shrugged, kicking the dirt a bit. "Bored."

"Don't like waiting?" Her inquires were so honest and open it was hard for him to believe.

"Not really, I did a lot of waiting before all this."

"Oh?" Vanille looked sullied. "Why?"

"Dad mostly." Hope admitted, gritting his teeth. "He'd always have work or something; I'd always have to wait for him to even see me."

The girl hugged him tightly, laughing. "Well, I see you! That's good right?"

Hope smirked at her, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I guess."

"Am I intruding?"

Both the teenagers shot up in surprise, standing away from them was a massive figure. He was a monster in white armour, his helmet hiding his face as he stomped forward. Two gigantic swords were in either hand, blades gleaming in the dying light of the day. Hope gulped, clenching his fists as the soldier stopped once here was maybe ten feet from them.

"W-who are you?" He growled, watching Vanille glance behind her nervously.

"You must be Hope Estheim," The man chuckled, twirling the smaller of the two swords. Though it was probably easily the size of boy he was addressing. "Quite the magician, I hear."

Vanille gulped. "Leave him alone," she stepped in front, unclipping and clinging to her staff as it unfolded.

"You…" The soldier growled. "You're a Pulse-born, parading around Cocoon as if you belong here…"

Vanille's grip tightened. "You're nothing but a fal'Cie's toy!"

"Peh, you know nothing of which you speak of, whore."

"Don't call her that!" Hope roared, hands sizzling as a fire spell threatened to emerge.

"Where are your friends I wonder?" He looked around lazily, as if not caring. "They left two children to guard the pass?"

The girl huffed. "We're not children! Besides you let common footmen do your dirty work, so who's the lesser?"

"Ha!" He bellowed in laughter. "I'll be glad to silence your quick-tongue, she only wanted to boy anyways."

Hope took a step back. "W-what?"

There wasn't any time for the answer, the enemy's twin swords came crashing down onto the ground. It was reminiscent of what the behemoth had done; only it had twice the power. The ground shifted and began to move almost like water as the spell unleashed its fury. Pieces of the canyon wall broke off and tumbled down into the gorge.

Stalagmites and jutted pieces of rock began to burst upwards, tearing themselves out from underneath the hard soul and earth once trapping them. Hope yelped in dismay, springing from his place he tackled Vanille out of the way of falling debris. It smashed down where she had been before rolling off into the pass.

Rage boiling over, Hope got to his feet and unleashed that fire spell he had been charging. The fireball roared across the lessening distance between himself and the man before slamming into…

_A shield!?_

Half of the ball erupted on contact, and only passing embers and a few flickers of real flame managed to lick the metal hide of the enemy. He chuckled, stabbing one blade into the ground, he brought his hand up. Purple energy began to bend around his fingers before he threw a strange aura into the air.

Hope yelped, he and Vanille were torn from the ground, along with chunks of rock and earth as the gravity spell took effect. They hung in the air for a good minute before the energy condensed and exploded.

"Hope!" Vanille shrieked, the burst shooting her clean off the cliff-face.

The boy crashed into a stalagmite before he slumped to the ground.

"Unn…" He moaned, hissing as his chest burned when he tried to breathe. "V-Vanille?"

He was roughly grabbed back the back of his shirt, an action that made him cry out in anguish from the pain in his chest. Hope struggled weakly, looking up to see the enemy sheath both his swords before stomping back down the path. The boy roared; trying to tear himself from the iron-grasp he was trapped in.

It was no use, and the more he struggled, the harder it became for him to breathe.

"I would suggest you settle down," the man growled, dragging the boy. "You've probably broken something, and if you continue to squirm I'll throw you over my shoulder." He picked Hope right off the ground for emphasis. "And that would be unfortunate, your wounded ribs slamming down onto my shoulder, wouldn't it?"

"Urgh…" Was all Hope could manage, as he stared back at the pass.

_Vanille?_


	12. Stolen

_Right then, shorter chapter then usual simply because I caught some stupid flu/bug/cold thing and it's killing me. So I deeply apologize is anything is off or confusing. Purr Beta'd this chappy, like all chapters. :3 Thanks for reading!_

_D: I can't believe how close to the end of this story I am…_

**Closer**

**Stolen**

It was raining rocks.

Not simple little pebbles that might hurt if they dinged you on the head, no, these were full blown boulders. They tumbled down, smashing into anything (including each other) that got in their way of the ground. The trio in the gorge looked up, none of them able to hide the shock and horror now streaming through their systems.

At least they didn't need to wait for Lightning's cue. All three of them bolted, it seemed that pure adrenaline and the concept of being splattered by the boulder did wonders to clear the head. They weaved and dodged, barely managing to avoid some of the larger pieces of debris that crashed down around them.

"Hope!"

That shriek caught Fang's attention. Her eyes went skyward as she saw Vanille get thrown right off the cliff. The girl was tumbling helplessly through the air, barely missing the boulders and random chunks of earth hurling around her.

"Vanille!" She cried, her speed nearly doubling as she took off ahead of Snow and Lightning. She grabbed her lance from her back and twirled it once, eyes scanning to see where exactly the poor girl was heading.

Using all her strength, she whipped the spear forward. It flew through the air and crashed into the side of the gorge, becoming locked in place. Vanille swiveled around, her hand out stretched she desperately tried to grab a hold of the new spike in the wall.

She missed by a mile.

Not that it deterred her in the least; in her other hand was her staff. Biting her lip in concentrating Vanille grasped it with now both her hands and swung it forward. Watching the reels spin and the cable go flying back towards the spear. Two of the hooks wrapped around their intended target, and as the others began to retract, Vanille came to a very sudden halt.

Then she swung back, screaming as she frantically dodged the last remnants of debris that fell around her.

"Vanille!" Fang yelled, slowing her frantic run to a jog as she watched the girl hang there. "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh!" She replied, though her usual chipper attitude was a little shaken.

Lightning slowed to a halt as she caught up with Fang, Snow just behind her. Though the man was keeping his eyes anywhere else but up as the two women talked to the girl hanging above.

"What happened?" Lightning questioned, crossing her arms as Vanille fiddled with her staff a bit. The reels activated again, and they slowly began to lower the girl to the ground. "Is Hope still up there?"

"I… Um…" Vanille chewed on her tongue, trying to think. "Well he… Um.. See, this guy…"

Snow looked back up at the top of the pass. "He's not there, is he?"

"This man, he came and he caused the earthquake." The girl finally stated, her words beginning to form coherent patterns. "Like the behemoth, only it was a lot stronger. Hope tried to use fire on him, but it didn't work. He was shielded from the attack."

The three glanced at each other. "Then what?"

"He used gravity, but not like Lightning, it was a spell. There wasn't any sign of equipment on him that allowed it either…"

Lightning turned around, beginning to form a plan as Fang moved closer to Vanille to see if she really was okay. Snow hissed air through his teeth, hands behind his head as he tried to think. There was no simple explanation for anyone being able to use magic. Usually it was AMP-tech, machinery that allowed people to use magic. True magic was only there for the fal'Cie and l'Cie to use.

It had a different feel all together; AMP-tech was a cheap copy in most respects. True magic could be ten times more devastating.

"So he's a l'Cie," Light finally spoke, turning to the group. "It doesn't matter, we can still beat him."

"Not to be the thorn in your side, but they have our strongest mage." Fang frowned. "The fight is going to be a lot tougher without some back-up."

"I can use magic!" Vanille chimed, jumping a tad.

"Aye, I know you can but sometimes your aim is a bit… off."

"No one's died from it!"

Snow snorted. "Some of Sazh's hair did."

"Hey!" She pouted, immediately summoning the peppy chocobo chick from her pouch. The bird fluttered in the air, chirping happily as it landed on her shoulder. "He needed a hair cut anyways!"

_They have Hope…_

That thought kept repeating in Lightning's mind as the others chatted aimlessly away. They wouldn't catch up to the kidnapper tonight, no. Everyone was exhausted, tonight they would rest and tomorrow they would begin anew. To try to save not only Sazh but Hope as well.

"Did he say anything?" Lightning questioned, her cool voice broke the chatter.

"Um… He said she wanted the boy…"

"She?" Snow tilted his head. "She who?"

"I don't know? There was only the soldier that came to get Hope." Vanille looked a little helpless. "He knew I was from Gran Pulse."

"Meanin' he probably knows about me as well." Fang crossed her arms, frowning in worry. "Not many know that, they just assume we're l'Cie from Bodhum."

"We have to move." Lightning broke the conversation. "Once we're back on the path we can discuss things. For now, let's move."

* * *

_She was back on the train._

_Quietly sitting, eyes on the floor as the guard passed by. It should've been like before, where her mind had been empty and focused on the goal. Only Sazh had distracted her, and he had only proved to be a minor nuisance. The others around her shuffled nervously, no one wanted to be thrown onto Pulse, but the truth was even-_

"Gran _Pulse, jeez you'd think you'd remember." _

_Lightning's head shot up, the guard was on the floor dead. Everyone around her, even Sazh had disappeared. The train didn't feel as if it were moving anymore either. Curiously she stood, finding herself free of the purge-robes and gunblade in hand. She had heard Fang speak, but the woman was nowhere to be found. She was probably off guarding Vanille or some such. Either way it didn't matter, Lightning had to find a way to the fal'Cie._

_Getting off the train confused her more so; she stepped out onto not the Hanging Edge, but Nautilus. The train car had apparently been moved to the center of the square. Blinking she looked around, bewildered by the rush of people and how they suddenly just vanished._

"Prove it_."_

_Her eyes focused on Snow, standing a ways from her, hands behind his head with that cocky smile on his face. The man's stare was challenging, just had it been in the cave that day. Lightning huffed, stomping up towards the man before someone caught her from behind._

_It was Serah._

_Her sister didn't utter a word; she just looked passed the woman and smiled at Snow. Lightning gulped, unable to hide the fearful expression on her face._

"_It's alright." She smiled, before vanishing._

"_Hey, Sunshine."_

_Lightning twitched and turned to face Fang. Half of Nautilus had disappeared, giving way to a black-blue sky studded with silver stars that shimmered every time a comet would zoom by. The woman approached quickly, teetering on the edge of Lightning's bubble that she insisted on popping. She frowned, about to comment before she felt someone's arms wrapped around her waist. Her body stiffened, before her natural reaction to murder whoever dared do this too her was wisped away._

"_Snow?" She questioned, looking over her shoulder to see the man smiling kindly down at her. "What are you-"_

"_Relax Light," Her body seemed to move on its own as she turned back, her body relaxing. "She said it was alright."_

_But it wasn't alright. As that thought entered her mind, Fang stood mere inches from Lightning. Her gaze questioning._

"_Why'd you let me kiss you then? Because you don't want the guilt from Serah?"_

_That was a good question. _

_One Lightning didn't have an answered for, which bothered her. _

"_You have to pick." Snow spoke, she was surprised such reason came out of his mouth. "You can't have us both Lightning."_

"_I don't want either of you." Lightning snarled in response, though her body still wouldn't move. _

"_Don't lie either." Fang frowned, crossing her arms. "It's one or the other, not both. And you better not pick me just to avoid the damn guilt you give yourself."_

Lightning's eyes slowly opened, she hadn't realized she had fallen asleep. Raising an eyebrow she stared at Vanille she had snuggled into Snow's trench coat. He must've given it to her after Lightning had fallen asleep, because the girl hadn't had that when Lightning had ended her watch shift and gave it to Snow. With a quiet yawn she sat up, and found herself frowning when she felt something slide down her side and rest on her hip.

When she looked it was revealed it was a hand. Lightning gritted her teeth, holding herself up with one arm; she plucked the woman's hand from her hip and dropped it onto the ground. Fang grumbled, turning over so her back was to Lightning.

Lightning huffed, sitting up slowly. Her back cracked in numerous places and she winced. This entire fiasco of a journey was taking its toll on her.

"You okay?"

Lightning blinked, spotting Snow sitting a little ways away on a boulder. He was staring are her solemnly.

"I'm fine." She answered calmly, standing up and hopping over Fang.

"You mumble a lot when you sleep." He noted, going back to staring at the road ahead.

Recalling the dream, Lightning hid her anxiety behind a mask of irritation. "Did I say anything coherent?"

"Serah."

Oh, there was a conversation killer.

And there was that heavy, awkward silence.

_Good going Snow._

"Anything _else_?"

Snow shrugged. "Not really. The rest of the time you just murmured things. I didn't catch anything else."

_You're refusing to talk about the kiss too? Good. _Lightning thought, not wanting to address the topic but knowing she had too. _Maybe we can just ignore each other…_

"I'm sorry." Lightning bowed her head, hating that she was apologizing.

Snow blinked. "For?"

_Are you that clueless?_

"About…" Not wanting to sound nervous, Lightning just trailed off. It was better to say nothing at all then to stutter or say 'uhh'. "What happened before."

"Oh." He bit his tongue, not knowing what to say. "Huh…"

"Huh?" Lightning's eye twitched. "That's all you got?"

"Yeah."

"_Why?" _

Snow shrugged. "You were trying to prove a point, and now you're taking it back."

She hadn't thought about it that way. "You mean.. You didn't think…"

"I did."

Now, she was completely and utterly confused. Snow smiled at the look on her face.

"You're not nearly as intimidating as you present yourself, you know."

Lightning blinked, hands on hips. "Oh?"

"When someone catches you off-guard or baffles you, you show the real you."

"Do I?"

"Yep," Snow leaned back a bit, hands behind his head. "She's not scary at all."

"She's not?"

"Nope."

Lightning frowned; he was enjoying this far too much. "And what's the real me like?"

"A person."

She rolled her eyes and turned away. Sleeping and crazy dreams were becoming far more tempting after this enlightening conversation. "Thanks for the in-depth analysis, Snow."

"I'm not sorry." He finally spoke, making her stop.

Lightning turned back slowly, facing him. Her face utterly unreadable, it seemed for the first true time she was blank and neutral just how she always acted. She didn't dare approach him, the woman kept her distance, feeling secure with a few feet between them. She matched his stare, though it was a little hard.

"You're not…"

"No." Snow answered, as serious as he could be. "I knew who I was kissing; there wasn't any illusion in my mind."

_Why, is that oddly comforting? _Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"_Tell Snow."_

"It's alright." Lightning finally spoke, after what seemed like an eternity. Snow looked at her suspiciously.

"Pardon?"

"It's alright.." The woman said it again, her eyes drifting to the ground. "Serah… She wanted me to tell you."

_Perhaps not the wisest of times to bring her up…_

It looked like some sort of weight had been lifted off the man's shoulders. He didn't know how Lightning had gotten the message and he suspected she didn't even know the significance of the words she had just uttered. But he was thankful for her, and for Serah.

"Thank you." He went back to staring at the path. "I mean that."

Lightning didn't reply, instead she decided to lie back down between Fang and Vanille.

_What exactly did 'It's alright' mean to him, anyway?_

So many questions fluttered through her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized how very few answers she had. Lightning frowned, closing her eyes as she rolled over, trying to go back to the dream world.


	13. Hope

_It figures I really get back into writing and my computer decides it's going to die on me. Good news though, here's the next chapter. :3 Anyways, soon I'm going to have a poll on my profile for the next fic I should work on. Let your voice be heard! _

_Thank you kindly for all the comments, and welcome to the new readers who pop up every so often! :3 _

_Purr beta'd! 3_

**Closer**

**Hope**

Hope groaned as he was tossed to the ground, at some point during the trek to the PSICOM camp, the man had decided it would just be easy to carry the boy. Hope hadn't been exactly appreciative of being carried like a ragdoll, the man's arm had been pressing up against his chest the entire way.

_Once I can breathe… _Hope inwardly grumbled as he forced himself off the ground and staggered. _I'll show him exactly what I can-_

"Sazh?" The boy questioned blankly, managing to hurry over to the dark-skinned man. Sazh looked at him curiously, glancing behind the boy towards the path the morning sun was just beginning to light.

"Hey, kiddo." He looked back at Hope. "Where's everybody else?"

Hope winced as he sat down next to his friend, nervously eying the soldier who had carried him here.

"They're um…" Hope didn't quite know how to put this. Lightning and Snow had tumbled off a cliff, Fang had jumped down after them and hopefully survived, and Vanille had been blown clear off the path by a spell. "Delayed."

"Delayed?" The pilot raised an eyebrow at the explanation. "Well it's grand you guys took your time, I was beginning to wonder if anyone was comin'."

"They're coming." Hope took in a sharp breath as he shifted position. "Don't worry."

"Oh, I'm done worrying. Worrying is something you do when you're first captured. I've been their prisoner for a couple of days now, now it's extending into boredom."

The younger of the two had a bewildered expression at just how calm Sazh was being. Hope would've expected the man to be panicking; he had complained and worried through most of the journey before this. Maybe he was just getting used to being in peril. That this sort of thing wasn't worth his time anymore.

"You're oddly calm." Hope stated, watching all the PSICOM people move around.

"I'll worry when the situation arises." Sazh shrugged, crossing his arm. "Currently, the situation is normal."

"Normal?" Now it was Hope's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Being captured by PSICOM, and probably brought to Eden for execution.. That's normal?"

"Yep." Sazh stretched out his legs. "These guys, they're either waiting until they have all of us, or they're not typical PSICOM."

The boy blinked, scanning their captors again. They moved differently, he had found that about the few he had fought. They were tougher, as if they had a full understanding of what they were facing. Of course they were still beatable but four of those guys had given the group reasonable trouble.

There was about twenty or so soldiers here, not including that giant man.

"Who's he?" Hope gestured to the soldier in white.

"Who big guy? He's called Raiden or somethin'. In charge of this lot, answers to some woman though."

"Woman?" Hope narrowed his eyes. "What woman?"

"Dunno that, son. I talked to her briefly, very in-command. Sounded familiar but I couldn't place her."

He frowned. "What did she look like?"

"All clad in that fancy, flex-armor you see some operatives wearin'. Didn't get to see her face."

_Oh, well that's just great. _Hope's frown disappeared but his mood stayed the same. He winced again as his ribs ached.

Eyes to the sky he sighed, watching as another sky tank began to lower down. Some of the soldiers paused as well, glancing up and then at themselves as the ship hovered above the ground before the pilot landed it with a soft _ka-thunk. _Normally, this wouldn't have caused alarm to either of the l'Cie, but the fact their captors seemed surprised by the new ship concerned everyone.

Sazh shifted, watching as Raiden stomped over to the lowering ramp, arms crossed.

"Who authorized this?" He growled to the nearest commanding officer, who quickly saluted and handed him a data-pad.

"Lt Colonel Rosch." The soldier stated flatly. Raiden snorted, and shoved the pad back into the man's hands.

"Go back to the Palamecia. We don't need reinforcements."

"He believes otherwise." Again the reply seemed to have an undercurrent of disrespect. Hope shuffled uneasily. "You haven't checked in since the loss of the Behemoth." The soldier spotted the two captives and gestured to them. "Are they l'Cie?"

The gargantuan man nodded. "They are."

"We need to take them to the Eden, for execution."

"We don't have them all yet." Raiden snarled, hand slowly traveling down to the hilt of his sword. "I thought his Excellency wanted all the l'Cie?"

"It's two less we have to worry about."

"… Perhaps I am not making myself clear…" With that Raiden swiped upwards, once massive swing that sent two halves of the soldier flying in separate directions. Hope's stomach lurched and he looked away, gritting his teeth. "You are not taking the prisoners. Not until she gives the clear."

Raiden's eyes fell on the shocked troopers still in the ship.

"Kill them."

Sazh was gob-smacked; he had suspected they were different organizations within PSICOM themselves but this… This implied something else entirely.

Just who had captured them? Because he was sure as hell now it wasn't the same PSICOM he had encountered before.

* * *

"So…" Snow tilted his head as Lightning led the way. "We don't have a plan."

"Not really." Lightning threw back, unaware that two of the three people following behind her were admiring her form.

"Plans are overrated anyways." Vanille shrugged bounded off to keep pace with their leader. "Right?"

"Tch." Lightning looked away, crossing her arms instinctively. "Every other plan we've had, has fallen to pieces." She had a point and the girl acknowledge it was a nod. "What would be the point of wasting my breath coming up with another one?"

Fang smirked, playfully watching Lightning's hips sway. "Well, not to be a bother, but without a plan exactly how do you intend to get Hope and Sazh back?"

"Shoot every PSICOM soldier who gets in my way."

"Ah," The tribeswoman rolled her eyes and hurried forward. "So, that giant soldier Vanille told us about."

"I'll shoot him too."

Snow decided to offer his opinion, much to Lightning's display. "I see a big flaw in your plan, Light."

"Well, seeing as it's not a plan, I see a fault in your previous statement."

"Somebody's touchy today."

She stopped then and turned around to face the two, or rather Snow. Grinding her teeth she stomped up to him, fists clenched and eyes burning with fury as she stared the ogre down. Snow have expected to get knocked flat on his ass again, it was something the woman before him seemed to like doing. But the punch never came.

Lightning had finally snapped it seemed.

"They have Sazh and Hope, and we only have a day to catch up and rescue them both. We don't know what we're up against past the fact there's a man that is somehow taller than you, who happens to be a damn l'Cie.

Exactly what plan would you like me to come up with? That Fang and I go charging in, guns a' blazin'? With you rushing in from the side to steamroll any sorry soldier who gets in your way? And what would Vanille do? Stand up on an overhanging cliff to rein spells of destruction down from above?

Because if you haven't realized it yet, those are all schemes from previous plans that went to hell faster than we are!" For emphasis she grabbed his arm and pressed her thumb down hard onto his brand. Snow didn't wince though, just kept her stare. "There is no plan Snow, because we've tried them all. Short of summoning the Shiva sisters and Odin for a big fireworks display, we don't have any options left other than to charge them head on."

Fang and Vanille had actually distanced themselves from the two. Vanille clung to her friends arm desperately, biting her lip as the two others continued to glare death at each other. The tribeswoman clicked her tongue, choosing to stay out of this one.

"Right, Vanille and I will scout ahead. You two work on a plan…" She paused when Lightning's fist somehow clenched tighter. "Or something that resembles a plan. Sound good?"

"Yep!" The girl chimed, bounding off to lead the way, Fang following close behind.

Snow didn't exactly feel safe, being alone with Lightning. She looked ready to murder him, and it was understandable. Things had undoubtedly become weird between the two since that kiss a couple nights ago and last night. He didn't dare move a muscle as her features stayed twisted in that expression of rage, something akin to when he had vowed to stay behind and break Serah's crystal form free from Lake Bresha.

Against his better judgment, he placed one hand on top of hers that was still clutching his brand fiercely.

"It's not your fault, Light."

It's not her fault?

Of course it was.

_How dare he even play at understanding what I'm feeling. Stupid son of a bitch-_

Her fist flew before she could even finish her thought. She felt it connect hard into his cheek and him recoil from the sudden smash but he didn't fall. He stayed standing, eyes shut tight as he took in the pain from her punch. His hand managed to stay on top of hers too, something she hadn't expected or wanted.

The anger began to subside into guilt. Maybe if she had just moved faster then they all would've been there. She could've saved Hope, countered that man's magic with her own or something.

_You're some guardian. You can't defend your sister, and you can't defend Hope either. _

Her expression lightened, as did her grip. His eyes opened slowly, worried another hit was about to meet his face.

Tearing her hand away, she stared at it like it was a foreign limb.

_Pull yourself together __**now**_**. **_Soldiers are not weak; they don't fall apart when an ally is taken._

"We need to catch up to Fang." Lightning stated, as stone-neutral as a computer.

Snow nodded, following close behind. "We also need a plan, we can't take on however many soldiers there are and the l'Cie too."

Lightning's expression didn't change much, but there was a hint of contemplation on her features as she led the way down the path. "Maybe we can use the sisters. If we can ambush most of the soldiers, the others should be in disarray, leaving us with the lone warlord."

"If they're all distracted, Sazh and Hope could escape on their own." The man offered. "Even the odds a bit if any soldiers do manage to gain a footing."

She nodded quickly. "We need to hurry and find the others, come on." She waved to him as she broke into a run.

Snow smiled in secret and ran after her.

* * *

"So…" Vanille led on, eying Fang with a sly smirk. Her friend merely glanced at her before going back to scanning the area. "Something happened between you two."

"What?" She countered, looking at the girl. "What gave you that idea?"

The girl shrugged and giggled, poking the woman in the side. "It's all over you. You're distracted."

"Ah, yes, the girl who counts clouds calls _me _distracted.."

Vanille broke into laughter. "Be as defensive as you like, Fang, but I _know._ You should just tell me before I ask Lightning."

Fang rolled her eyes. "Uh huh…"

Secretively displeased her taunt hadn't worked, the girl pouted. Crossing her arms defiantly she marched up to her friend and stopped her in her tracks. Fang's eyebrow lowered in curiosity as she watched Vanille pout and frown, varying between the two before a gleeful smile broke through and she clapped.

"You kissed her!"

"You already knew that."

"You did it again," Vanille narrowed her eyes as Fang took a step back and scratched behind her head. It wasn't like the woman to get embarrassed, but there was that simple, yet telling gesture. "You did too! Sly dog! Did she slap you again?"

Fang rolled her eyes. "No."

"Awww, maybe she's beginning to realize how madly in love with you she is!"

The tribeswoman began to walk again, glancing over her shoulder at her younger friend. "Comin'?"

"Wait for me!" Vanille yelped, hurrying. "Did she taste the same?"

"Vanille-"

"Did she? Did she?"

"Oh come on-"

"Tell me!"

Fang huffed, glaring at her close friend with slitted eyes. "Yes."

Vanille beamed, she was practically radiating gleefulness. "Sooo when is the famous Yun Fang gonna make a _real_ move on her?"

Fang nearly choked on the air she was breathing when she heard Vanille ask that. She swiveled around, amusement and surprise written on her face as the girl broke in hysterics. The older crossed her arms, watching with a small, yet happy smile as her friend giggled and gasped for air.

"Aww, Fang, you're too much at times."

"Appears so, I'm just a barrel of fun aren't I?"

"What's so funny?"

The two looked over as Snow questioned the sudden laughter. Lightning was next to him, looking much calmer than before. Fang and her exchanged glances before they all turned their attention to Vanille, who was trying to wave them all off.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." The girl reassured them, smiling innocently. "We have people to save remember?"

"Aye, that we do." Fang looked over at Lightning. "Do we have a plan?"

The sergeant nodded. "Vanille, you and I will take on the l'Cie."

"What about Snow?" Vanille questioned, blinking.

"Don't worry about me," he grinned confidently, raising his branded arm up. "I'll be there soon after I take care of some things."

Fang gave him a suspicious look, but she supposed a plan, even if it involved Snow disappearing, would be better than no plan at all. Her gaze fell upon Lightning, who seemed to be quietly mulling over the details she had yet to reveal. Even with the situation turning dire as it was, she couldn't help but let her mind drift back to the second kiss, and how the sergeant hadn't slapped her.

_She was out of it. _Fang admitted to herself. The thought brought on a small tinge of doubt, but Lightning had been oddly coherent for someone who had crashed into the ground. _Or maybe she's more open to the idea than she'll admit._

Hope, it always seemed to be the thing driving this ragtag group onwards. Whether it was figurative and masked the need for somebody, or a young boy who insisted on causing issues to their once well-laid plans.

"You ready then, Sunshine?" Fang crossed her arms and puffed herself just a tad, looking much more dominant than before. "Or is it all up to Vanille and I?"

Lightning's left brow rose in the slightest and a small, yet challenging smirk appeared on the woman's lips. She simply nodded to Fang.

"Alright then," Snow nodded, begin to part from them. "Let's kick some ass!"

* * *

Admittedly, Hope was surprised when Raiden had ordered one of the medics to heal him. He hadn't objected, not after seeing the monster slice a soldier clean in half. He didn't know if he should be thankful or not, Raiden's actions seemed to hint that they wanted the l'Cie for another purpose. As grateful as he was for that not to be a public execution, he was horrified to think what they wanted him for.

_Because apparently she wants me… _Hope's mind drifted back to seeing Vanille fly off that cliff, and he found himself praying to the gods she was alright. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone being killed or severely injured due to him. Vanille was up there with Lightning for people he cared about. _I wonder if Light's okay…_

Sazh stretched, yawning loudly. Hope looked at him, sullied. He wanted nothing more than to go home, back to Palumpolem and off this foolhardy quest to save, or end, or whatever they're supposed to do to Cocoon. He would give anything to hear Snow's bellowing laugh or see Vanille's welcoming smile. Or maybe even see Fang and Lightning duel again, because apparently they had when Lightning had stormed off that time…

His thoughts took a **slight** turn for the worst, and Hope found himself turning red. He looked away, hiding his embarrassed gaze from Sazh as he tried to picture something… Not like that.

_So they were sweaty, there is absolutely __**nothing**__ attractive about that… _

Oh, was he ever lying to himself.

At least it was something to deny thinking about as he sat there, completely silent.

The boy's eyes went to Raiden, who was shooing away one of the lessers who were reporting to him. The boy's eyes narrowed as he summed up some courage.

"Excuse me," He was oddly polite, hoping that it would get him more answers than Sazh's method. "Can I talk to you?"

The warlord paused, his mistrust hung in the air as he approached the boy. "What is it?"

"Who's she?"

Raiden stayed quiet, either he didn't know who Hope was referring to, or he simply didn't want to answer.

"The woman you talked about, at the gorge. You said she wanted me."

"Hmm." Raiden crossed his gigantic arms. "I recall."

"Who is she?"

"She'll be arriving here shortly." The answer chilled both prisoners. "I assume that will satisfy your curiosity?"

Hope looked down at the ground as Raiden marched away. Sazh nudged him, trying to comfort the younger man with a smile.

It didn't work. "We're dead." Hope grumbled, kicking the dirt.

"Nah," Sazh waved off the idea. "Come on, our luck may be bad, but every time we're in a pinch somethin' good happens."

"Uh huh…"

"You know for a kid, you can be as miserable as that sergeant at times."

Hope frowned. "Light's not miserable!"

"Sure, and next you'll be tellin' me she smiles and dances under the stars." The pilot laughed at the thought. "Face it, kid, the only person who can beat you in misery is her. Only difference is she hides it."

"I thought…" The boy fumbled with his words. "She was strong, a warrior."

"No doubt she is, but I'm old. Seen things, people exactly like her." Sazh shook his head, staring at the ground. "Outside they're as strong as a behemoth, but inside… Inside they're all pieces. Been torn apart so many times they don't bother puttin' themselves back together anymore."

"Way to lighten the mood." Hope rolled his eyes, receiving a nudge from his friend. The boy shivered then, rubbing his arms. "Huh…"

"What's up?"

Hope exhaled, watching his breath as it was expelled as mist. "Did it… Get colder?"


	14. Sore Loser

_Alrighty! Due to the fact there is a lot of view jumping in this chapter, I'm going to use the line ruler to separate perspectives instead of full scenes in this one. Just to clarify :3  
_

_I had a lot of fun with this chapter~ I hope I didn't get too carried away!_

_Thanks to Purr for Beta-ing!_

**Closer**

**Sore Loser**

Raiden paused, eyes cast to the ground as he watched the moisture begin to harden. Ice of all things, was coating the ground and the rocks, mist took the place of once invisible breath. His hesitation broke a second later, surprise overtaking him.

"Take cover-"

He was cut off as heaven's icy fury rained down onto the field. The wind howled in rage, and the snow pelted down like thousands of bullets, intent on slaying anyone unlucky enough to be caught in their midst. Large chunks of ice began to fall soon after, larger and larger before they neared the sizes of the boulders before. The soldiers cried out in horror, mercilessly slaughtered as they tried desperately to recover from the sneak attack.

Raiden had to even block a few pieces, glaring back to see both prisoners bewildered. He turned, facing the path to find himself suddenly assaulted. The clang of a deadly blade slamming into his suit of armour made him yelp; as did the electrical current that zapped him as well. Stumbling back he took another two hits before he was sent to the ground.

He barely managed to free one sword before another volley of strikes came. He blocked two hits, but the third super fast slash struck him low on the thigh. Raiden was sent nearly to the ground again, about to attempt an attack of his own; he was cut off abrupt as someone's foot went flying into his face.

The force was enough to dent his helm, almost enough to seal it onto his face. The man roared, rolling back, he clung desperately to his blade as he unveiled his other. Eyes flaming with fury he scrambled to his feet, only to have a ball of ice crash into his chest, sending him again, further back.

* * *

Lightning's eyes narrowed into infuriated slits. She clenched the Blaze Edge so tightly she could feel her hands begin to ache at the unrelenting display of anger. Fang was smirking; her kick had sent the bastard reeling, before he had time to take a swipe.

"You lead then?" She offered, watching Lightning do nothing but charge.

Her sword crackled with electricity again as she attacked. Raiden brought one of his weapons up, blocking the powerful strike. But the magic easily leapt from the gunblade to his metal hide. Giving him another nice shock before Lightning did a full twirl and attempted a critical strike to the head.

He managed to stop that attack as well, bringing his second blade up.

He ducked in time to have Fang's spear slip just by his head. Roaring he forced himself forward, crashing his shoulder into the woman's face. The tribeswoman yelped, turning her ungraceful tumble into a back flip. Fang's eyes began to burn with anger similar to Lightning's.

Vanille bit her lip, pointing forward she watched as a bolt of crackling lightning went flying from her fingertip and struck the warlord who had kidnapped her friends. He kept his footing, but his armour sizzled from the strike. Her eyes scanned the arena, only a few normal soldiers had survived, and one was making his way to Light.

"Light!" She cried, "look out!"

Lightning left Raiden to Fang for a moment. She pivoted easily on her heel. Facing the guard with no fear, she flurried her blade to bewilder him for a second; the woman switched hands and thrust the point into the man. He lurched forward, audibly gasping as the weapon slunk deeper into his gut.

Her eyes seemed horribly empty as her expression turned stone cold while another approached from the left. Lightning held up to her name, in no time had she wretched the blade from her first victim and was assaulting her second. Kicking him back she switched her sword to a gun and fired a near point-blank shot to the man's head.

He fell to the ground with a lifeless thud, his body twitching.

_No mercy for the enemy, as they have shown you none. _

It was chilling to watch, as both the third and fourth men to attempt to subdue the vengeful woman fell. Her attention went back to Raiden, who was giving Fang a bit of a hard time as he had recovered enough to summon a shield against Vanille's incoming magical strikes.

She turned to Vanille, who peered out from behind her rock questioningly. The sergeant nodded to her, watching as the girl returned the gesture and ran towards Hope and Sazh.

* * *

Hope had watched the carnage with a quiet, awed mind. Lightning had proven herself the great warrior, but she had moved there so fluidly, like a dance. He barely noticed Vanille running up to him and his friend, he still felt so… disturbed by the disconnection Lightning had displayed.

"You okay?" Vanille questioned as she melted the lock on the chains around Sazh's ankle.

"Just fine," Sazh replied. "I'll go salvage a weapon; I need to repay that monster for his kindness."

The pilot hurried off to find some sort of weapon akin to his own. Leaving the two mages there, Vanille moved closer to Hope and put a hand on his shoulder.

"How about you?" She offered, hoping he'd open up.

"She's just…" He murmured, watching Lightning and Fang assault Raiden. "Killed them, like they were nothing.."

The girl frowned. "Hey, we need to help out, you know? Come on…"

By his own will or not, the boy followed.

* * *

Well, this certainly wasn't how Raiden had planned to gather the rest of the l'Cie. But here they were, and he was being assaulted by apparently an army of two. Every time the elder Pulse-born stopped her assault, the sergeant was there. Her attacks hammered against his metal hide and he was secretly thankful it was top of the line.

Of course, that didn't matter a whole lot. Soon enough their strikes were going to wear away at his armour. It wasn't something he looked forward to, though many in his unit saw him as something above human, he wasn't.

You could kill a l'Cie. It was the very fact that terrified him and thrilled him. As the people before him were as mortal as he was.

Time to remind them.

With a roar a wave of energy erupted away from him, stunning the duo just long enough for purple energy to shot up into the sky. The boy he had captured cried something close to 'look out' but it was too late. The spell activated, and the two were drawn up, off the ground. Sazh even struggled to fight the gravity well, scrambling backwards.

* * *

Lightning's glare turned deadly as her teeth ground together. The spell was just as Vanille describe, only she had a trick up her sleeve. She snapped her fingers, and watched as the blue energy swirled around her. She dropped suddenly, hitting the ground and landing with the grace of the coolest cat.

Using her still activated AMP-tech, she rushed the cocky Raiden. The man almost yelped, though it turned into a groan as Lightning's blade crashed down on his shoulder, cracking his armour and spilling blood.

_The right to be a god isn't yours. _

The spell exploded, and Fang was sent careening back towards Sazh. Who outstretched his arm and caught the woman's hand. He pivoted, swinging around and flinging the tribeswoman like a bullet back at Raiden. Lightning smirked, ducking just in time. The PSICOM warlord roared as Fang swivelled around mid air and came spear-first crashing into his chest.

The chest plate cracked, and he winced behind his helm as the point of the lance sunk into his flesh ever so slightly.

"Well hello there, big boy." Fang taunted, grinning as she wretched her spear free and slammed the other end into the man's head. The helm visibly dented (again) and as she bounced off Raiden, he was sent hard into the ground. "Not so tough when you're fighting adults, are ya?"

"Urgh…" He groaned, and rose to his feet. He hadn't counted on l'Cie who use their magic to the advantage. "Worthy opponents..."

Lightning snorted. "Can't say the same."

"Hey."

* * *

Raiden turned around, eyes widened as they focused on a man nearly as tall as him. A mere foot away the man swung, attacking with his mere fist. The warlord went to block, bringing up a sword. The clenched hand smashed into the blade, and against all odds the weapon shattered. The blade splintered and exploded, pieces of it flying everywhere.

Raiden was stunned; his eyes almost seemed to zoom in on Snow's hand. It glimmered with energy…

Such magic was Sazh's speciality… Meaning he had escaped his chains.

_Not. Good._

He needed to even the odds, but there wasn't any way to do that. His men had been vanquished for the most part; those who did live were being held up by Hope, Sazh and that girl from before. He was left to fight three commandos, something that he hadn't been trained in.

He gritted his teeth, backing away from the advancing three.

_I suppose I need to prove that magic is better… _

Well it was that, or he failed his focus.

_Really _not good.

Twirling his sword in a wide circle he stabbed it into the earth with little regard for anyone left. The ground began to tremble; its pace quickening before the clearing was turned into what was reminiscent of crazed rapids. Stalagmites and rocks rose up quickly, and the dirt almost was fluid. The earth cracked and groaned, lost pieces of metal, twisted and forgotten, were sent shooting out of the ground.

* * *

This was that earthquake Vanille had mentioned.

Lightning frowned, dodging what she could. A quick scan of the area revealed Vanille and Hope were taking shelter on a large boulder that stubbornly refused to move, Sazh was doing a mad dance, Fang was perched on her spear she had stabbed into the wall, and Snow was just standing there…

Lightning's eyes shot back to him, watching as he crossed his arms over his chest. Each hit he took seemed to affect him less, and every hit seemed to cause more red energy to surround him.

Oh, this wasn't going to end well.

As the spell began to calm itself, Snow charged. He moved with agility that no one thought he had. He cleared numerous obstacles before he was upon the enemy. His fists were bright with that pent-up energy, and it almost sparked with anticipation. Raiden caught the first punch, but the second broke through. The energy shot from the flying punch into the warlord, shattering what was left of the plate and shooting him across the still moving field into the cliff wall.

There was a very solid boom from the impact and a dust cloud rose, obstructing the vision of the team.

Lightning and Fang were by Snow again, as Hope and Vanille joined Sazh. They all watched with apprehension. The cloud began to dissipate, revealing that Raiden was still alive. His armour was falling to the ground in pieces, and his bare chest was burnt and scarred from the vengeance Snow had delivered. One gauntlet was off, and on his hand was a simple star brand.

Only it was twisting. It turned red as the stress added up; the man watched it change in silence. The points of the star grew longer, morphing into arrow points.

"Heh.. heh…" He choked, wounded. "It appears, I'm failing."

"Don't be a sore loser." Sazh piped up, pointing a rifle at the man. "Nobody likes 'em."

The star still twisted into a new shape, more points began to emerge as the eye began to open.

"Failing, isn't an option." He chuckled, spotting his blade across the field. "She… Won't allow it."

"Who?" Hope questioned, maddened. "Who is she?"

Raiden was allowed to get to his feet, though he was shaky. He wobbled a bit, wincing as he rose to full height. "She's the commander…"

The air around him began to spin as he stared at his brand.

"Don't try it," Fang growled. "You honestly think you stand a chance against us?"

The brand sparked to life and began to glimmer; a sunset cast of colours begin to pour from it.

"No…" His reply was cold and firm.

Then it appeared; a shard of a crystal of the same sunset pallet. It looked somewhat like a dagger, floating before Raiden as the glowing from his hand ceased. It just hung there, taunting the l'Cie before the enemy's eyes fell upon it. He reached out to it, almost as if to touch in curiosity before changing his mind.

In a flash, he had sliced it in clean half. And the ground played host for a strange orange design as crystal sprouted up, almost forming what looked like a tree before it was broken.

The group faltered, stepping back in awe as a giant towered over Raiden. The man was lanky, almost too thin in the midriff with large, strange shoulder pads and a very flat, round hat. Vaguely mechanical, Lightning could see the gears spinning in the shoulders, chest and even hands.

One hand, of which, was tightly grasping a sheathed katana.

Raiden chuckled, as the creature merely touched him and his armour was restored.

"I don't stand a chance…" The warlord replied. "Not alone, anyway."

* * *

It was almost like Lightning had blinked and the summoned thing was upon Sazh. It slapped him with the scabbard, and she was forced to watch her companion go flying. The man didn't get back up; he lied unmoving on the ground, slumped over a rock.

Another blink and Hope was gone. He had been hit up into the air and had crashed onto the cliff. His arm hung lifelessly over the edge. She spun around, hearing a grunt from Snow to find him on the ground, struggling to get up before unconsciousness claimed him.

Vanille vanished, she had let her eyes off of her and the enemy had claimed her. She was up against boulder she had taken refuge on before. Head hung over and her hand twitching.

_This can't be happening… _Lightning began to feel panic set in.

"Nuh uh!" Fang roared, blocking the almost unseen strike. She slid back as the creature's sheath clanged against her spear.

The rejoicing wouldn't last; the creature grabbed Fang by the throat with his free hand and with a rush of bitter air sent her crashing next to Vanille.

The spear dropped to the ground then, making Lightning realize she was the only one left.

And that all this had happened in three, horrible seconds.

Then, she felt a swish of air.

_Oh shi-_


	15. Frenzy

_Next installment of the fight, hope you guys enjoy it. The chapter after this will be the last (of the 'boss' anyways). Not much to say, the line breaks return again, perspective jumping and I think a few scene changes. :3 Hope it's not confusing._

_Thanks to Purr for Beta-ing!_

**Closer**

**Frenzy**

There was a sharp clang of metal on metal before the force of the hit sent Lightning flipping back. The toe of her boot had just touched the ground when the monster was upon her again, attacking with speed that was beyond what the woman could comprehend. She managed to block, another sharp hit making her skid backwards until her back was against the cliff wall.

Eyes wide she ducked, the fist of the warrior slamming down where her head should've been. She felt pieces of rock and dust fall onto her back, as other shards rained down around her. Recovering quickly she lashed out, her blade crashing down on the thin, metal abdomen the eidolon had.

It was futile, but the monster backed up just a bit, enough for the woman to slip passed and escape another blow.

_Running isn't a plan, not for a soldier. _

It was upon her again, and this time wrapped its metal fingers through her hair and lifted up. Lightning snarled, letting out a strangled cry. She didn't dare drop her sword, though she wanted to. Instead she used her free hand to grab a hold of the thing's giant wrist and lifted herself up a tad, taking away some of the pain.

"Oi! Put her down or you'll have me to deal with!"

Lightning blinked, utterly confused, she couldn't hide the surprised (mixed with anger) on her face as the creature swiveled around. Fang was up, spear in hand, she was gesturing for the monster to come for her.

_There's no way that will- _

The sergeant was roughly dropped, hitting the cold ground with a thud as the creature rushed Fang again. The tribeswoman roared, blocking each incoming hit with surprising grace, though Lightning could see she was just managing to avoid each strike in the nick of time.

Snapping out of her daze the sergeant charged, blade sparking wildly only to have Raiden's blade intercept the attack. Lightning couldn't hold back the growl as her icy eyes shot to the man. The electricity seemed to pick up in power and zap him just a tad more than originally intended, but the warlord shook it off.

* * *

"_You have to get up…"_

_For all intensive purposes Snow was quiet comfy where he was. Of course, he had no idea where exactly he was, but it felt as if he were face down on the most soft and comfortable bed ever made. For this reason he decided that the sweet voice trying to lull him back to the world of the damp, cold, and bitter living could go to hell._

"_Snow…"_

_Of course, that voice sounded strangely familiar. He turned over, opening one eye in curiosity. The result was his other quickly followed suit, finding that he wasn't in his bed or any other bed. He was lying on the ground, of course, as he looked at the ground, he found it was invisible; the only hint was the silver reflection as it rippled._

_But it wasn't wet, so it wasn't water._

"_What the…?" He questioned, sitting up and staring at the stars around him. "Where am I?"_

_He felt warm arms wrap around his neck and someone's chin on his shoulder. He looked over, eyes widening and a brilliant smile breaking onto his face when he saw who it was._

"_Serah!"_

_Instantly he was up, and embracing the young woman in a giant hug._

"_Snow.." Her voice was so soft and sweet, just how he remembered it. He took a step back though, when she saw how worried she looked._

"_What is it?" Snow questioned, having no doubt in his mind this was really Serah. _

"_Lightning… She's in trouble… Well, all of you are, actually."_

_Snow thought back to the eidolon Raiden had summoned and the sudden thwack he had endured._

"_Oh damn…"_

_Serah shuffled. "Fang and Lightning, they're fighting right now but… One of them won't make it… Not unless you help."_

_Snow felt his heart begin to throb. "What do you want me to do?"_

_

* * *

_

One hit made it through, and Fang felt a couple of her ribs crack from the impact. She roared, unable to hold her anger back behind her mask of confidence anymore. She spun her staff, slamming the beast upside the head before going to thrust the point into its chest.

It reacted accordingly, zooming back before she could land a solid hit. Panting heavily Fang briefly glanced at Lightning, who was managing to hold off the new, boosted Raiden back. This thing wouldn't dare attack Lightning until it thought Fang couldn't be a threat anymore, and that was something the woman was beginning to regret. She had taunted the thing to save the sergeant from a painful death, but now it was solely focused on _her. _

"Too late now…" Fang heaved; going on the defensive again as the monster came rushing back. It was a dance and unfortunately Yun Fang didn't know all the steps, every so often the opponent would slip through, landing hits that were all beginning to add up.

She wasn't going to last, and this eidolon knew it.

There was a flurry before Fang found herself shot back against the boulder, next to Vanille. She groaned, wincing as her muscles protested and bones cracked. She was done, her eyes cast up to the creature, which advanced slowly as it drew the sleek, blue-silver blade from its sheath and held it almost casually.

"Not even worth," She coughed, her tongue tasting cooper. "A warrior's stance to ya?"

* * *

"Fang!" Lightning cried, chancing a glance in her direction. Her sword and Raiden's ground against one another, magical energy flowing back and forth. Ruin and thunder magic was coursing between, causing shockwaves and static energy to fly off in all directions.

She gritted her teeth and kicked the monster of a man back, striking with all her might. The Blaze Edge crashed down on the enemy's blade, visibly denting the edge as it sent another lightning strike into the warlord's body.

Raiden only laughed, wrenching his blade free before sending his fist crashing into Lightning's stomach. The woman felt the air fly from her lungs and her body zoom backwards onto the ground, rolling.

"She wanted you too." Raiden spoke, voice strong. "She told me to get the boy, the sergeant and the hero."

Lightning slowly began to get up, only to have a swift kick to the ribs send her back to the earth. Her eyes fluttered, the gunblade was out of her reach. Still she futilely outstretched her arm for her, fingers digging at the loose soil.

"Though she did say; if any of you presented a real problem…" He used his foot to roll her over. Dizzily she watched him spin the blade over him. "I could end you, I think this qualifies."

There was a gut wrenching cry of agony that snapped Lightning out of her stupor.

_Fang…_

"_FANG!" _Lightning cried, her irises swirled and turned a brilliant, white-yellow before the ground around her crackled and sparked to life. Raiden's eyes went wide, as all that energy shot into the sergeant's chest before it exploded.

He was sent flying into the air, much like how his eidolon had sent poor Hope skywards. He crashed down back onto the clearing with far less grace, something that Lightning also lacked at the moment. She forced herself up, body crackling and all around her the air turned dry. Heaving she stood there, staring at Raiden who wasn't moving.

"Eh…ga… Argh…" Raiden stuttered, seeing that his armor had been fried and was now flaking off in pieces. "Y-Yojimbo… Finish her…"

The eidolon turned away from the slumped, bloodied body of the tribeswoman, and completely ignored the now stirring Snow who was coming back to reality. Yojimbo, as he was called, stepped slowly towards Lightning, eyes narrowing as it spotted the raw energy pouring off of her. It tilted its head, watching her hobble before it gestured towards the abandoned Blaze Edge on the ground.

Lightning turned to it, licking her dry lips.

"N-No… You… Fool kill her now…"

Yojimbo did not move, he instead sheathed his sword and waited, as still as stone.

* * *

Needless to say, Snow was confused. He had hurried over to Fang and rolled her onto her back. Thankful to see a smirk form onto her lips and her heavy lids just opened enough to see.

"Oh, you… Decided to join us did.. you?"

Snow smiled, hovering his hands over the nasty wound on the woman's abdomen. "I thought you could use some help."

Yun Fang chuckled, though she instantly regretted the action. "Me?" She sputtered, gripping the pole of her spear tighter as the pain shot through her. "You should be helpin' Sunshine over there…"

"Dying woman first, severely angry woman after."

Another chuckle.

Warm green wisps of magic began to expel from Snow's hands. They hurried down into Fang's wound, and she seemed to breathe easier as sliced flesh and wounded organs began to miraculously mend.

* * *

Lightning had her sword in hand, though she was far from being ready. Her entire body was aching beyond what she could've imagined. Her knees wobbled at the thought of collapsing, but she wouldn't allow it. That thing before her, Yojimbo, as Raiden had called it, had hurt everyone that she had dared to care about.

To be fair, it was only doing what it was told. It was a soldier, like her.

Strange to think that maybe she was staring at her own reflection, slowly they began to circle. The eidolon still wary of the energy pouring off of the sergeant.

_Are you afraid I'll explode? _She mused, bringing her blade up defensively. _Like how I blasted Raiden? _

_

* * *

_

Yojimbo's grip on the katana's hilt tightened, his eyes were blazing with renewed interest.

He let her have one final readying move. She downed what was left of the tiny, yet concentrated blue potion in the second. A temporary solution, but it gave the woman the strength she needed to at least defend herself properly for a time.

And then, breaking the norm, Lightning was the first to charge.

The two blades crashed against each other, Lightning leaping back as a second swing from Yojimbo threatened to cut her in half. She roared, bouncing to the left and striking as hard as she could, the magic around her ignited, channeling itself from her fingertips as the eidolon forced her away. It let out a startled cry as the bolt struck it square in the chest, its fantasy, metal body conducting the energy easily.

Either combatant narrowed their eyes before rushing each other again. One sweeping strike from Yojimbo sent Lightning up into the air. She smirked though, as she bounded gracefully off the katana's sheath. She stayed on her guard up in the air, ready for when the creature teleported up next to her, using either parts of its weapon to send a flurry of hits towards the woman.

Defying gravity, it was something both warriors excelled at. Flips and twists made up the majority of Lightning's fluid, almost rhythmic movements. Yojimbo's eyes burned, his once renewed interest now fully peaked as the sergeant proved herself the worthy opponent.

Still the magic swirled, enticing Lightning's movements. She didn't recall the last time she blinked; her mind was clearing everything away. All that mattered was the movement of Yojimbo, so perfect his actions; he rivaled the legendary macabre dancers of old. Each of his attacks were graceful, each meant to be the finishing blow.

_He doesn't play with his food, polite of him._

The woman barely acknowledged that the floor was under her feet again as she forced Yojimbo on the defensive. She was gaining ground, her attacks matching the creature's own incredible speed. It didn't even seem human anymore, her muscles didn't ache, hell they barely felt anything, even as they casually hopped over Hope's now moving body.

Sparks were flying, and in a moment of weakness for the eidolon, Lightning attacked. She raced forward, driving the edge of blade down onto the creature's exposed arm. It roared, attacking in defense, she ducked to avoid the katana and wretched the sheath from his hand. Silently glowering she tossed the thing back down into the clearing.

Yojimbo eyed it quickly, his attention soon becoming fixed on the entranced Lightning.

* * *

Fang and Snow could barely register the eidolon or their friend anymore; it was all becoming a blur of sparks and magic. The battle only came to a very short, brief pause when Lightning tossed the embellished, beautiful crafted scabbard down, so it was sitting in the middle of the field.

"What the hell is going on?" Sazh groaned, warily stumbling up to him. His eyes saw the fantastic blur of violence and he blinked, utterly lost. "Who's-"

"Lightning." Fang and Snow answered in unison.

"Oh." It was sad that explained everything. "How can she move that fast? I know her name's Lightning but…"

Fang sat up, ignoring the pain she felt. "It's her eidolon. She probably isn't even registering she's working herself up into a frenzy."

"Guys?" The weak, quiet voice came from Hope. He was sitting up on the edge. "What happened?"

Snow frowned. "What happens when she reaches the peak of the frenzy?"

As Vanille began to come to, Sazh and Fang glanced at each other nervously.

"Oi, Hope!" Fang called. "You probably want to get down from there…"

* * *

As fast as the energy came to her, it was that quick to leave. Lightning stumbled back, muscles shaking as the aura around her swirled. Yojimbo took a cautious step back, striking a defensive posture as the woman seemed a little lost. She stared at the eidolon with empty eyes, as suddenly that glow about her zoomed towards her chest.

There was a sudden moment of levitation, though Lightning ignored it for what was before her. A crystal, perfect in look and colour.

_Your turn._

Lightning tossed the crystal into the air. The gunblade switched, twisting into a rifle she aimed upwards. With a single, well-aimed shot she shattered the thing into a million, pink pieces.

Petals of a flower rose up around her as the sigil of summoning surrounded her. She felt all that pent up energy fly from her, up into the air before the lotus she was in broke into thousands of shards.

Yojimbo couldn't hide his surprise; behind the now exhausted Lightning was a form as tall as himself. Far more imposing then the samurai was the knight; horns rising from his helm and his face that of a stern, disciplined focus. One arm was cast in a curved shield while the other held in its grasp and wicked, dual-ended sword.

"It's time to end this…" Lightning huffed, as Odin stepped around her, becoming something of a wall between the enemy and his target.

* * *

Raiden glared at the pink-haired woman, his hands formed into fists as his eyes switched over to watch the two eidolons staring each other down.

_I will end you, Sergeant Farron…_

Slowly he reached for his blade.

_I promise you._


	16. Shatter

_Yay! The third installment of the battle! Everyone be excited! It's here! _

_But I come with bad news; the next chapter (after this one) will be the last one of Closer. I'm very sorry to all you avid readers and reviewers but the story must eventually end. And it ends the next time I update. I hope the ending is as great as you all say the story has added up to be. I'm sorry to anyone that I've disappointed!_

_Thank you to Purr for Beta-ing!_

**Closer**

**Shatter**

She was beyond thankful that her eidolon has chosen to emerge when he had, Lightning was beyond exhausted. Her muscles didn't even bother aching; instead they unsteadily shook and made standing up a rather difficult maneuver. The wall between her and Yojimbo should be enough to buy her time for her body to recover.

Or, she hoped this. The sergeant weakly spied the two opponents staring each other down, neither daring to make the first move. It was strange, to see either creature so blatantly on the defensive. Lightning winced instinctively though, when the samurai attempted to bypass Odin and head straight for her, wanting to end the fight before it began.

Odin would have none of that. He swung his dual-blade low, catching Yojimbo's weapon and throwing it up. Effectively locking the enemy in place unless he reversed and tried a different move. The knight didn't give him the chance; he advanced stomping forward and throwing the samurai a good couple of meters back.

Yojimbo landed gracefully, twirling his katana before slipping out of the way of Odin's attempted strike to the neck. He countered quickly, but the eastern blade slammed down hard on the two-part, dome-like shield attached to the eidolon's arm.

_Break's over. _Lightning thought, seeing her summon needed aid. She rushed in; hoping that glorious numbness she felt would stay as she went active again. The woman quickly flipped the switch on her sword and took aim with her rifle. Firing three sound shots that ricocheted off Yojimbo's metal hide.

It was enough to distract the opponent, giving Odin an opening. He brought his shield crashing down on the samurai's shoulder. The bash made Yojimbo slide back on the dirt floor and almost lose his footing, though he transformed what could've been a rather disgraceful fall into a beautiful whirl and sent a concentrated blast of air in Lightning's direction.

Not having the time to curse, the wind swept the woman off her feet. Spinning her up and around in the air before throwing her cruelly back down to the earth. She groaned, eyes shooting open to see her faithful summon distracting Yojimbo with a series of fast strikes.

"Damn you to Pulse!" Lightning's eyes went wide as Raiden's sword almost came crashing down on her neck. She rolled, scrambling up on her feet as he swung wildly at her, the tip of his blade knicking the clasp on her jacket. "Why won't you just _die?_"

His foot crashed into her back and the sergeant found herself rolling. She curled into a ball before emerging out of it a few feet away. Lightning brought her gun up, wincing as that massive sword belonging to her warlord-like enemy slammed down onto it, almost wrenching it from her grasp.

Following Odin's fine example, Lightning forced herself forward, pushing Raiden back enough so she could transform her gunblade back into its familiar sword form.

She prided herself on being difficult to kill and his frustration only made her smirk.

In turn he roared in angry and charged, almost blindly.

_Wrong move. _

Her fist crackled with electricity and with a quick flick of the wrist a bolt sent the poor, enraged man back.

Not that her advantage lasted long, Raiden charged again. Their blades slammed into each other, and Lightning felt the crushing weight of the blow on her entire body. She chanced a glance at the ground to see he had actually forced her down into a ditch a tad. The sergeant managed to force him back, dodging another near-hit with a quick flip through the air.

Her landing left much to be desired, the moment her feet touched the earth her knees buckled and she was down. Using her Blaze Edge as a sword of support.

"Looks like time is up, Lightning Farron." Raiden sneered, whirling his blade around. "Say hi to your sister for me."

_Oh you son-of-a-_

Wire, almost to quick for their eyes to catch coiled around Raiden's blade. He blinked; confused on what was going on until with a simple, yet powerful swing he had been disarmed. Rage boiled over, his eyes followed his own sword. Watching as a very tired Vanille and Hope both clung to the bind-rod.

"Damn you to-"

There was a clang, and he was sent sprawling on his back. Fang now stood where he had, panting.

"Jackass." She groaned, turning to see Lightning. "You okay there, Light?"

Lightning just rolled her eyes, getting up. "Nice of you to join in."

Fang smirked, but her expression changed to fear. "Light, look out!" Her hand was outstretched to grab the sergeant, but the woman swiveled around instead.

Yojimbo was on her, having out maneuvered Odin he had moved past the knight and was now relentlessly assaulting the woman. She let out a arduous growl, wincing as his powerful strike made sparks fly off her weapon like confetti during a party.

She slipped out of the way, flicking the switch so her blade warped back to being a gun. Lightning only managed to get one shot off before the eidolon was on her. Roughly pushing both Sazh and Snow away from itself as it swiped viciously at the pink-haired woman.

Lightning let out a snarl, as her gun was wretched from her hands and thrown away. She jumped back, dodging slice after slice.

_Odin, where are you?_

On queue, there he was. He almost seemed to tower over the fellow eidolon before he grabbed the samurai by the massive shoulder pad and flung him over his own like a toy. There was a boom and the ground quaked as the creature landed roughly, a dust cloud blocking everyone's vision before a very angry warrior dashed out.

Yojimbo stopped his charge abruptly, his blazing eyes turning as white as fresh snow. Then came the wind, howling and bitter as can be it swept down onto them, blowing Vanille clean over and making Snow stagger as it whipped around and focused its horrendous attention on Odin.

Lightning's eyes widened a tad, Odin looked like he needed aid. Her tired eyes shot over to Hope, who was trying to help Vanille.

"Hope!"

* * *

Hope paused, looking over at Odin. That very same summon had once tried to kill him, that face almost made the boy reconsider what he was about to do. He rushed forward, cementing himself in place as he clasped his hands together.

His eyes turned white and glowed just as they had before.

_I can do this. _His thoughts reassured him as he felt his own twister begin to emerge. _I can save him._

The wind roared, sweeping around his friends it charged right for the knightly giant. Slowly ,Hope's hands began to turn, but counter-clockwise. His gust countered Yojimbo's slowly, but soon enough the enemy began to notice how less and less effected Odin was. The dirt and scrap around him danced in the chaotic wind but the magic-boy's spell was enough to negate the effects.

That didn't sit well with Yojimbo at all.

Not that it mattered, as in that time he had been trying to out-do the boy, Odin had conjured up his own spell. There was a deafening crack as a flash of white smashed into the samurai and sent pieces of his armor flying everywhere. Sazh ducked, grimacing as one of the chest pieces had almost hit in square in the face.

"Hey! Big boy, watch where you're throwing things!"

* * *

The two eidolons were on each other again, becoming nothing more than a massive blur of death. The group stayed clear, only inching closer when Yojimbo attempted a critical strike on his enemy.

A strike that met Odin's shield, which after taking the hit, retracted to give way to another hand. Knocking Yojimbo back with a blast of energy the knight pulled the two blades of his sword apart.

Though Yojimbo showed no emotion, it was clear that he knew his end was soon. Odin had a confident look on his usually stern face. He whirled about, moving just as fast as his opponent. Hit after hit began to get through the samurai's crumbling defense, before finally there was a sharp clang and an explosion of energy.

The katana had been shattered; pieces of it fell to the ground as rainbow shards.

Yojimbo's once narrow eyes widened as Odin knocked one of the creature's defending hands away and plunged his blade into the samurai's chest. Sparks and wisps of white energy began to pour from the wound.

Lightning's eyes narrowed.

"Go to hell." She snarled.

Odin lowered his head, raising the impaled sword up; he tore it blunt-side-up through Yojimbo's upper body before it broke out near the neck. The samurai floundered, body begin to shake as uncontrolled energy began to build.

Not that he had a chance to use it. In a swift, scissor like move Odin had lopped Yojimbo's head clean off.

* * *

There was silence around the group as they stared. Watching as the enemy's summon burst into millions of crystal pieces, all glittering before fading away. Lightning heaved, body finally spent she collapsed, watching with a relieved expression as Odin approached her.

With a simple bow of his head (one she returned), the knight turned. He strode away, fading into thin air.

Lightning felt a hand on her shoulder and tensed, looking over sharply to find Fang kneeling down beside her.

"You okay there, Sunshine?"

The woman sighed, almost tempted to lean on her friend. "I really hate that nickname..."

"I know but it's catchy, isn't it? Everyone calls ya that."

She glared at the group as they began to gather. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really."

"_Fantastic." _Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Sergeant Lightning Farron,"

That voice made the woman turn cold. She was up in an instant and pivoting before she came to a halt. In fact everyone had, the entire group was frozen as they watched a battered, bloodied and probably dying Raiden stomp up to them. The smack from Fang has broken off a small fragment of his helmet, revealing a twisted, enraged eye.

The veins were black and his flesh was beginning to turn grey.

"He's becoming one…" Fang snarled, standing next to Lightning. "A cieth."

"Eh heh… Heh…" Raiden sputtered, his hand clung to the Blaze Edge. He pointed the rifle maliciously at its owner. "How poetic… Y-your…" He growled, so deep and inhuman it made Vanille take Hope's hand in fright. "Own g-gun… Will be the d-death of you.."

"Oh, come on, man," Sazh spoke up, arms wide in shock. "Just let us put you out of your misery."

"No!" The word was foul and monstrous, and slowly that twisted eye began to turn red, like the one on his hand. "I w-willl… Fulfill my.. F-focus.."

"Your focus is to kill Lightning?" Hope blinked.

"Face it." Snow growled, slamming his hands together. "You're through. You try anything-"

"And y-you'll kill me…" The warlord laughed. "I have no… i-illusions _boy. _B-but…"

"I'll still be dead." Lightning finished.

A maddening expression seemed to flash over that one eye. "_**Yes**__._"

Vanille's eyes travelled down to the man's hand. His fingernails were turning black and one of his thumbs was beginning to bend back in an unnatural, painful fashion. She winced, diverting her gaze when Raiden's crazed stare fell on her.

"S-save your pity… Pulse girl… I-I f-feel… N-nothing."

There was a distant rumble. Sazh gulped.

"Sounds like an airship."

Raiden chuckled, his armour beginning to crack as something began to grow out of his back. "S-she'll… Be here soon…"

"Sazh," Lightning sounded in control, like the fact she was most probably going to die didn't matter in the least. "Go and start that airship." She gestured to the one that seemed to have been untouched in the battle.

He nodded, and hurried over to it.

"Y-yes… Run… She f-finds it fun… When you t-try to hide…"

"Well," Lightning eyed her weapon. It was dented and in desperate need of repair. She frowned, remembering when a fiend has trampled it (through no fault of her own, Vanille had taken it and then _dropped_ it). It had taken Snow, Fang and herself to bend the blade back to perfect condition. She didn't want to go through that again. "What are you waiting for?"

The cieth growled; his helmet had begun to fall off. "Any last w-words? F-for your friends?"

"Only for you."

What was left of his human nature was intrigued by the remark. "W-what then?"

"Don't _**ever**_ mention my sister again."

Raiden's laugh was a twisting gurgle. "S-Serah… Deserved w-what she… Got…"

Then he fired.


	17. Serenity

_This is it, the chapter everyone has been waiting for, and the one I'm dreading putting up. I'm quite proud of the fact I finished a story, seeing as this is the first fic I have ever reached the end of. Thank you muchly to all who have loyally read and reviewed, there's no doubt in my mind that it's because of you people I finished. _

_Special thank you to SinisterPurr, Provocative and Talkative, and Siverstorm for helping me along on msn. :3 _

**Closer**

**Serenity**

The gunshot rang out, and Hope heard a body fall to the ground. Biting his lip he opened his eyes, only for his heart to stop.

Lightning was still standing.

She stood as still as stone, eyes fixed on the massive, twisted corpse on the ground. Her face was unreadable, a mixture of anger and neutrality. Her body shook a tad, perhaps from exhaustion before she collapsed. The woman had stood just to be defiant in what should've been her last moments.

But they hadn't been.

The sergeant thanked her anger for masking her fear. Yes, her gun was damaged but she never imagined it would… Well…

The man had shot _himself_.

Vanille moved cautiously forward. "Did he…?"

Fang looked like she was about to laugh. "Yes, he did."

"He.. He shot himself." Hope stated blankly.

"It backfired…" Lightning corrected in a quiet, yet still tone. Her hand shakily outstretched and took the red and silver weapon from the man's grip.

"And yet you look displeased…" Fang commented, crossing her arms.

"Do you recall when we had to fix this weapon last?"

Snow grimaced. "Can't you just send it in?"

Lightning shot him a glare. "No."

Sighing in defeat, he resided to putting his hands behind his head and turning away.

"Noo… Of course not."

"Snow…"

"Yes, I know. Shut up. I'm way ahead of ya."

"We should get going," Hope offered, gesturing to the airship.

"Yeah!" Vanille beamed, dancing a tad in celebration. "We have Cocoon to save!"

Lightning frowned, realizing that eventually they would have to address just how unlikely that prospect was. Though at the moment the best thing for the group to do was get the hell out of this place and back to the _Lindblum_. It would be ridiculous to have that particular discussion here.

Only because it was guaranteed to get heated, and it would again pit herself and Snow against each other.

_Oh, now there's a surprise. Snow and I disagreeing. _

Lightning rolled her eyes, and with Fang's help was up on her feet. Her exasperation probably showed, because Fang's tight grip on her arm didn't leave. She kept the sergeant steady as she slid the broken Blaze Edge back into its holster. The tribeswoman's eyes were unreadable, though not in that sly sense. They were rather blank; something was entirely new to Lightning.

Despite wanting to hold up her cold persona, it slipped away at the strange look.

"Are you all right?"

Fang smirked. "Worried about me?"

"Tch…"

Her voice quieted down a bit as they slowly started for the ship. They could hear Sazh cursing something and the hitch-pitched amused squeals emanating from Vanille.

"I was a little scared back there," Fang offered, stopping her pink-haired companion. "You look exhausted, Light."

"I'm fine."

_Stop worrying about me. I made it through, didn't I?_

That seemed to hit a nerve, the tribeswoman grabbed Lightning's arm and pointed to a scratch. As tiny as it was, it had a scab over it, meaning it had bled.

"Whether you like it or not, you bleed." Her emerald-eyes flashed with annoyance. "What's with you and not accepting help?"

Lightning gritted her teeth and pulled her arm away. "You can have Vanille cure me, if you'd like."

Fang's eyes narrowed. "You really like to go it alone don'cha?" She huffed, a half-smile appearing. "I don't know whether to admire you or be irritated."

_In my opinion, you do enough admiring. _

"Hn." The sergeant found the strength to cross her arms.

* * *

"What do you mean it's fried?" Hope crossed his arms as he watched Snow. The massive man was half under the un-powered engine, clinking away with various tools that Hope had never seen before. "But we need to leave."

"Thanks for the update, kid…" Snow replied, an edge to his voice. "I hadn't noticed we're being pursued by some crazy chick with giant warlords…"

"Can you fix it?" Vanille questioned, swaying eagerly back and forth in the flip down chair she had situated herself on.

Snow slid out from underneath the massive engine with a confident grin on his face.

"Of course I can!" He shuffled back underneath quickly. "I've fixed worse…"

"Like what?" The girl loved stories.

"I had this hoverbike back in Bodhum, I bought it for next to nothing." His mind drifted back to it. "Thing was an absolute wreck."

"Bet Lightning didn't approve."

Snow laughed, fiddling with an engine part that was covered on black soot. "I think she liked it better than she liked me to be honest."

Curiosity got the better of Vanille after hearing the man's reply to Hope's comment. "What did Serah think of it?"

Snow paused, clutching the wrench loosely in his hand as he thought back to it. A small, sad smile appeared on his face, and he was thankful the other two couldn't see him.

"She… Said it had 'potential'." He chuckled quietly to himself.

What he hadn't mentioned was Lightning had been there when he had asked either of their opinions. At the time the man had thought if he could prove to the sergeant that he wasn't completely useless, maybe she'd lighten up. Lightning had protested to even _seeing _the sorry excuse for a vehicle. When she did arrive following her upbeat sister, that cold, irritated scowl on her face vanished when she saw the scrap heap in front of her.

"_Well?" Snow gestured to it. Secretly dreading the reply he was about to get. "What do you think?"_

_Serah clapped her hands excitedly. "Are you going to fix it?"_

"_You bet!" Snow gave his girlfriend thumbs up. "It's gonna look like the new ones rolling off the production line."_

"_It certainly seems like it has that sort of potential, doesn't it, Light?"_

_Oh, the look she gave her sister was one that crushed Snow's hope then and there. Slowly she stepped out from behind her sister and swaggered over to the wreck. Her eyes narrowed as she took a critical eye to it, gently running her fingers over the rusted, denting front bar. _

"_It doesn't have a seat…" She stated flatly, eyes fixed on the missing middle section. "Are you planning to turn it into a jetpack?" _

_Snow didn't know whether Lightning had attempted humour or not, so it was safer to just answer._

"_Nah, I'm gonna make it."_

_And so came the disapproving, annoyed facial expression. Oh, how he loved those._

_Without a word she turned from him and walked past her sister. Only stopped by the gentle hand on her wrist._

"_Light," Her sister's voice was almost pleading for a civil reply. "What do you think?"_

_Lightning's eyes flicked back to the hoverbike. "Everything has its uses." _

_She glared coldly at Snow then, before returning her hard gaze to her sister. Accepting the answer Serah released her. The sergeant was quick to leave, stating how her charge better be home for supper or Snow would be the one to pay for such irresponsibility._

Typical Lightning.

Snow wondered, as he tightened a bolt, if Lightning's opinion of him had changed a lot or a little. It had obviously changed, though he didn't know to what extent. At least now she could at least tolerate his presence.

_A tad less likely to die… Yes, ma'am, I'm making progress._

He smirked to himself.

* * *

"So…"

Lightning was sitting comfortably on a boulder. One leg crossed over the other, her posture still managing to be the essence of perfection despite her tiredness. Only her eyes gave away her true feelings, they looked like they just wanted to shut and drift away. Of course, they had almost done it, except for the accented voice of Fang slithering into her ears.

The sergeant looked over, seeing Fang leaning up against the side of the 'work-in-progress' airship.

"So…?" Lightning took the bait, only because she knew the woman would just keep hinting at something until she did.

"You didn't hit me."

"Pardon?" Now she was utterly lost. "Did you switch sides?"

Fang chuckled. "Wouldn't that be a twist? But nah, I'm referring to our kiss."

Now, the sergeant was struggling to keep her blush hidden. Her eyes shot away from Fang's and instantly found a pebble on the ground fascinating. "Oh."

"So you remember?" The tribeswoman's smirk turned into a smile. "Good to know, you were a little out of it."

"Explains why I didn't hit you."

"Oooor…." Fang slid closer, and knelt down, a hand on her hip while the other clutched her spear. "You like me."

Lightning stood instantly, arms crossed and expression that of irritation. "Hardly."

"Admit it," She teased, relishing in how much fun it was to wind the woman up. "It appeals to you."

"What does?"

"The idea of you and me."

"No." The sergeant's voice was firm. "It doesn't."

"No?" Fang tilted her head and straightened up, emerald eyes gleaming. "So…" She neared Lightning. "It's never crossed your mind?"

That blush was beginning to break through. "Never."

"Really? You're imagination hasn't drifted to what would happen?" The tribeswoman enjoyed this game far too much.

"No."

She wasn't lying, not really. Though some of her dreams had been rather awkward, much of it was hazy. Her imagination didn't get the chance to wander until she was unconscious. In her dream world there had been moments where her mind played on the idea of Fang and her… But it had never progressed that far.

There was a flash of what Fang had mentioned, and Lightning found her irritation growing.

If I wasn't so damn exhausted…

She would be able to fight off the idea a bit better? Probably.

"It's cute when you try to lie." The woman snickered, snapping poor Lightning out of her train of thought. "Like a kid who got caught stealin' cookies from the jar."

"Stealing is against the law." Her tone came out rigid, like it would've had she still been at Bodhum and part of the Guardian Corps.

"Aye," Fang closed the distance between them some more, and Lightning couldn't help but be captured by her smoky eyes. "It is… But don't tell me you've never been tempted."

Oh, and wouldn't you like me to reach into your jar and-

Lightning closed her eyes as she mentally beat herself for that thought. Her eyes opened again and were icy, though Fang could see a spark of something in them.

"Temptation's a sin." Lightning countered, her eyes flicking to Fang's lips for a split second.

Fang brushed some of Lightning's pink hair from her face. Lightning almost seemed to flinch; such a gesture was as foreign and threatening to her as an enemy's blade. She wasn't allowed weakness because she had to be strong. Serah and this damned scenario demanded she be strong, and falling for temptation was the farthest from strong you could be.

Well, dead was probably the farthest, but this was pretty damn close in her book.

"If you want," Fang offered, running a cool finger down Lightning's cheek. "You can deck me after."

"Tch." She looked away, uncomfortable with how exposed she felt. "What good will that do?"

"You just seem fond of it."

Lightning caught Fang's hand as the woman went to guide the sergeant's gaze back to her own. She was caught off guard by the reflex and the glare she was receiving. It wasn't angry however, it was decisive. Like the woman was considering every option, every little detail.

Fang briefly wondered how many bloody outcomes there could be for what they both wanted to happen.

"Lightning," Fang's voice didn't break that critical stare, but it seemed to draw her attention. "What do you think will happen?"

_Outcome a) We turn to crystal and sleep forever… Or Outcome b) We turn into monsters, or I do at least. _

_This is of course, assuming it goes anywhere-_

Fang didn't wait any longer for her reply; she kissed Lightning, though it was a gentle gesture. If the woman couldn't make up her mind, the least the tribeswoman could do was help her sway towards the decision that involved more of them together. She parted from the sergeant slowly, watching with intense curiosity as emotions fluttered over Lightning's beautiful face.

Surprise, followed by anger that diluted to mild irritation, and then interest. Lightning's tongue tasted her own lips tentatively.

They tasted like Fang.

_Oh, to hell with it then._

Lightning had never kissed very many people on her own accord. There was the occasional holiday that involved hanging some werewolf-banning plant in doorways and men at the HQ who would specifically stop her under it. That wasn't her choice, and most of the time, if she did allow them to kiss her, it was a peck on the cheek.

In fact, if she recalled correctly, the only person she had kissed on purpose was Snow.

That was sad, it took proving a point and some sort of confused emotional state to get her to kiss someone?

She would've frowned, but somewhere in her mental tangent her body had told her mind to piss off and thrown itself at Fang. She registered pressing her lips to Fang's, and how the woman had been taken slightly aback by the sudden sign of affection. Maybe that was why she never kissed anyone, she was bad at it?

_You're thinking of this __**now?**_

Though deep in her stomach there was now a twisting fear she was a horrible kisser, she doubted as such. Fang hadn't pulled away yet; instead the _Gran_ Pulse-born had wrapped her arms around the sergeant tightly. Lightning mentally cursed herself; she had one hand gently touching the tribeswoman's neck and the other resting near her collarbone.

She was trapped, and she seemed to take on the 'girl' classification in this show of infatuation.

_Damn it. _

When had Fang's tongue made it into her mouth? Lightning didn't have the knowledge base to fight that sort of battle.

_Maybe you should cast Libra._

Oh, wasn't _that _poetic.

Despite her mind trying to ruin the moment, Fang's actions had intrigued some neglected, dark part of her. She felt her own tongue moving in reply, and suddenly found this sort of duelling much more interesting than ones with swords and spears.

They parted, and Lightning found herself resting her forehead against Fang's. She refused to open her eyes, which had closed at some point during that heated moment.

When her eyes did open, she saw a playful smirk on Fang's lips.

"What?" Lightning growled, though it wasn't at all threatening.

"Just you…" Fang replied, a little disappointed when Lightning backed off. "I didn't think you'd actually kiss me."

"Tch."

* * *

There was a rush of air, and either woman looked up blindly as a dark shape zoomed over the field. It did one circle, revealing itself to be a sleek, elegant ship that made the sky tank they were apprehending look like a floating hunk of scrap. It landed across from them, and it wasn't long before the rest of the gang were outside, watching in curiosity.

"Not good," Sazh pointed to it. "That's the ship that was with the rest of the psycho PSICOM soldiers."

Lightning frowned, and reached behind only to have Fang grab her hand before it touched the rifle.

"It's broken remember?" The woman offered, plucking her spear from the ground as the others readied themselves. "Let us handle this fight."

* * *

The ramp to the ship hissed and opened, lowering down quickly. No soldiers rushed down, no laser-targeting rifles were aimed at them. Instead a womanly figure emerged from the enemy craft. She was clad in a skin-tight suit, with an eerie helm reminiscent of sniper soldier's hiding her face.

Whoever she was, she didn't carry a weapon with her. Nodding to the group of l'Cie before her head turned. She stared at Raiden's corpse, or they assumed that's what she was looking at as she approached. She stopped when her feet were just touching his mutated arm.

"Shame." Her voice was calm and cool. "He had such potential."

Hope gulped, and found himself moving behind Snow. Something about her made the boy's skin crawl.

"Who are you?" Fang called, not at all intimidated by the woman.

Slowly, she looked over to the group. "I was his commanding officer."

They fell silent as the woman outstretched a hand over Raiden's corpse, and a brilliant light shown from him. Slowly the crystal he had called forth before emerged, fluttering up and into the figure's grasp. When she touched it, it vanished. Their eyes were on Raiden now, his twisted corpse began to shimmer, and slowly his body was transformed into a crystal formation.

She tilted her head at the statue for a second. As if analysing it before delivering a swift, and powerful kick to what would've been the man's midsection. The formation shattered a moment afterwards, expelling a rush of shards and energy from the blow.

The group shielded themselves as pieces of the warlord rained onto them. Vanille looked absolutely horrified.

"Why did you do that?" She roared, hands forming into fists.

The woman was now approaching them and was quietly chuckling as she watched them all go on the defensive. "There's no room for failure, not now."

"What are you talkin' about?" Sazh growled. "You're squad's gone, you failed. I'd call that a failure."

"_Oh_…" Her voice was so smooth; it almost took the edge off the entire situation. "I really haven't."

"Sazh." Lightning shot the pilot a glare. "I told you to get the ship started."

"I.. uh…" He frowned at the woman before nodding. "You scream though, if you need help."

Lightning shot a look at him.

"All right, have Vanille scream then…" He muttered, trudging off.

"I didn't think you'd be able to take down Raiden and still have all of your team standing, Miss Farron…" She cooed; sounding vaguely impressed. "Congratulations, you're making them worthy of the title l'Cie."

"Tch," Lightning's body was tense, just waiting for the strange soldier to try something. "What do you want?"

"You, the boy, and the hero."

The group was again, silent.

"Though, I doubt any of you would come willingly. So I propose a trade." She gestured with a fluid motion of her hand to their leader. "Lightning's life for either Hope or Snow."

Fang blinked and looked at Lightning. Sure the woman was tired but she was far from death. A quick glance at the rest of the group revealed they were as lost as she was on the whole proposal. It didn't make any sense, least of all why she was threatening their leader if she was one of the three she wanted.

"You're bad at this skill called persuasion." Fang taunted.

"You think so?" The woman crossed her arms, playfully thinking about it. "I suppose, I could try a different tactic."

There was a split second where Lightning wasn't sure what was going on. Only that she was moving. She thought that maybe, her body had once again ignored her mind and acted on it's own. But there was a rush of wind around her, and cries from the others behind her as she was pulled forward.

Right towards the woman.

_Fuc-_

She came to a very abrupt stop when something slammed into her chest. A near-silent cry of anguish managed escaped her lips as she looked down. The commander's hand was in her chest, melded inside through some form of magic that shouldn't be possible, for even a l'Cie. It was gut wrenching and terrifying; so much that Lightning couldn't hide the horror on her face.

The stranger slowly drew her hand out and dropped Lightning to the ground. The sergeant gasped, trying to get air back into her lungs as she looked up desperately.

There her enemy was, standing over her, and clutched in her hand was a shining, pink crystal that resembled a lotus blossom.

"Lightning!" Fang's confused cry brought the woman back to reality.

She felt rather odd. A cool, almost calming sensation washed over her body before her limbs began to move on their own. Lightning's vision blurred, the world becoming a colourful wash of rainbows and shining sparkles before it all blended together and formed darkness. She could feel her arms rise up, above her head and her mouth opened ever so slightly.

Then Lightning Farron felt very, very tired.

* * *

Yun Fang couldn't remember if she had ever seen anything like what was before her, and was positive she'd never want to see it again. Lightning's body was now a shimmering, glistening crystal statue that was near identical to Serah's in purity. The crystal has formed arcs of bolts that spun around her protectively and seemed to spawn from her hands, while her feet and half of her calves were hidden in jutted crystal spikes at the bottom.

It would've been serene, if it weren't for the evil woman having warped everything that such a form meant.

"F-Fang…" Vanille was terrified; she was ready to run into the ship. "H-how…"

"You turn her back," The tribeswoman snarled, her knuckles were pure white from clutching her weapon so tightly. "Or so help me, no fal'Cie will be able to find a trace of your wretched existence **anywhere**."

"Your threat is empty." The woman calmly replied, watching with satisfaction as the crystal vanished from her hand. "This is my new tactic, it's called intimidation."

Not that anyone could see, but they knew she was smiling.

"Either Hope or Snow comes with me, or I'll shatter the ex-sergeant."

There was an awkward, heavy silence that loomed over the group. Snow's mouth opened to speak, but he was cut off.

"I'll go." Hope hurried to beat the older man to the punch.

"No, Hope, I-"

Hope looked at the hero with a furious expression. "You're the hero, aren't you?" His words stung Snow's core like a bite from a pit viper. "Find a way to help Lightning then, don't go off to get yourself killed."

"Kiddo… I…"

"**Promise me**," Hope roared, his glare burning into each and every one of them. Even Sazh, who had just returned to see what was the matter. "Promise me you'll find a way to turn her back!"

Fang and Vanille nervously glanced at one another; Snow just raised his hand up and formed a fist. The man forced a smile onto his face as he tried to sound convincing. "We'll find a way, Hope."

The boy nodded and turned away.

"Hope…" Vanille sulked, outstretching her hand for him.

"Don't worry about me," the boy was acting brave. He was thinking this through too, just how Lightning would've wanted. They needed Snow, he was stronger than the boy was by far, and had an eidolon. He was the strategic choice.

That didn't make going with the enemy commander any easier. His heart was pounding as he moved away from the group, only stopping once he was inches away from Lightning's sparkling statue.

_Light… _He inwardly wept, his hands shaking as he reached out and gently touched one of the larger crystalline stalagmites. _I… Don't worry… They'll find a way to turn you back…_

_

* * *

_

_Lightning sat on her porch, her eyes staring out at the quiet sea. It was late evening; the stars were just beginning to show, the clouds clearing away to reveal the endless sky above her. _

_The sergeant was silent; the only sound was that of her nails tapping on the arm of her lounge chair, and the occasional laughter of children on the beach._

_It was quiet and calm. _

_Just how she liked it._


End file.
